Does President Obama’s backing of gay marriage affect his re-election bid?
Peter Conches
store supervisor | South Philadelphia
“A lot of people will swing against him, especially in the Southern states. It will probably cost him the election. I’m glad he came out with it. But he was trying to grab votes. And it will backfire. He just lost the South and Midwest.”
Peter Conches
store supervisor | South Philadelphia
“A lot of people will swing against him, especially in the Southern states. It will probably cost him the election. I’m glad he came out with it. But he was trying to grab votes. And it will backfire. He just lost the South and Midwest.”
Justin Imler
customer-service representative | Center City
“It will help him. A lot of the younger generation will be mobilized to vote for Obama, who otherwise wouldn’t have voted. The people against gay marriage wouldn’t have voted for him anyway. So it won’t hurt him in that sense.”
Leo Levitt
student | South Philadelphia
“It will hurt Obama. I’d estimate about 60 percent of the country opposes gay marriage. They don’t want it to happen. Obama might get some votes from people who admire his courage, but overall, he’s putting Romney in a better position to defeat him.”
Trish Sanzone
sales representative | Fairfield, Conn.
“It will bring Obama more support. People are more open-minded than they let on. In the privacy of the voting booth, they’ll vote for Obama. Today, everyone knows a lesbian or gay man. The opponents [of same-sex marriage] are a vocal minority. For every one of them, there are 20 who are for gay marriage.”
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