![Cdx390_0](https://www.advocate.com/media-library/cdx390-0.jpg?id=32714657&width=1200&height=876)
CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
An aide to President Obama, being grilled on LGBT issues at the Netroots Nation conference Friday, said a 1996 political questionnaire that asserted Obama's support for marriage equality was filled out by someone else.
Daily Kos associate editor Kaili Joy Gray (pictured, left) questioned Dan Pfeiffer, Obama's communications director, extensively about gay issues and other progressive concerns at the conference, an annual gathering of new-media activists, held this year in Minneapolis.
She asked Pfeiffer about a questionnaire submitted to Outlines (now Windy City Times), a Chicago LGBT newspaper, in 1996, when Obama was running for Illinois state senator -- his first run for office. It was sent by his campaign office to Outlines reporter Trudy Ring, now The Advocate's copy editor.
Gray noted that on the questionnaire he said, "I support same-sex marriage, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages." She said that Obama's position seems to have evolved from being more supportive of civil rights to less supportive. "Is the president going to evolve again and get back to supporting civil rights on gay marriage?" she asked Pfeiffer.
Pfeiffer responded, "If you actually go back and look, that questionnaire was actually filled out by someone else, not the president." However, it does bear Obama's signature. Pfeiffer contended that Obama has been consistent in opposing marriage rights but that his position is evolving because of his interactions with gay people.
Windy City Times posted a news item Friday standing by its reporting and noting that another 1996 Obama questionnaire, for the now-defunct Illinois political action committee Impact, contained similar statements supporting marriage equality.
Gray also repeatedly asked Pfeiffer about implementation of "don't ask, don't tell" repeal, saying, "So when are you going to stop kicking people out of the military?" According to the National Journal, "Each time, he gave her some version of 'soon.'"
Read more here, and watch the exchange on same-sex marriage via AmericaBlog Gay here.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Joe Biden sends queer lawmakers & LGBTQ+ allies to Paris Olympics
July 24 2024 12:08 PM
Kamala Harris rides wave of Democratic energy at kickoff event in Wisconsin
July 23 2024 3:36 PM
'Devastated:' A six-week abortion ban will go into effect in Iowa next week
July 23 2024 2:28 PM