WATCH: Obama Talks Marriage Equality on MTV

President Obama reiterated his support for marriage equality and other gay rights causes during his Ask Obama Live interview on MTV today.

He still says he still thinks marriage rights should be a matter of state law, but he believes the Defense of Marriage Act was unwarranted federal government interference on the issue, and says state-level conversations on the topic will help the nation arrive at a consensus.

“I have been very clear about my belief that same-sex couples have to be treated, before the eyes of the law, in the same way as heterosexual couples,” Obama says. He notes that he once supported civil unions as a means of accomplishing this, but seeing committed same-sex couples convinced him that civil unions did not provide “true equality.”

He also touts his support for other LGBT causes, such as repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and answers young people’s questions on the economy, gun violence, climate change, and a variety of additional subjects. Watch the clip on LGBT issues below and more at MTV.com.