Redeemer Rev.: Obama Right on Gay Marriage

For some local community members, President Obama's (take our poll on the subject at the link)—the first ever by a United States president—represents a welcome evolution.

The Rev. Cynthia Black of in Morristown praised Obama for his comments.

"I and the congregration that I serve are delighted to hear this and know that because President Obama is a person of faith that he made this decision with faith in mind," the Rev. Black said. "Leaders lead, and our president showed great leadership."

Frank Druetzler, the Republican mayor of Morris Plains, said he believes the country has been leaning toward marriage equality lately. He recalled seeing public opinion polls reflecting a transition, as more people who'd previously been opposed to gay marriage seemed to accept it.

Druetzler said he has no problem with gay marriage, and has performed a number of same-sex marriage ceremonies.

Mayor Peter Mancuso of Morris Township that although he believes people have the right to do what they want, he doesn't choose to participate in same-sex cereomies because of his own religious beliefs as an active member at the .

In a recent blog post, Patch reader and Morris Township resident .

"The party of The government needs to stay out of my life shouldn’t be anywhere near laws banning Gay Marriage," he wrote in the piece, which also touched on other concerns Prentiss had with the state of the Republican party. Note: Blog posts can be submitted by any member of the local community. To submit your own piece, click on "post on Patch" here.

Garden State Equality's Chair Steven Goldstein also praised Obama's news.

"I am overwhelmed with tears of joy, as our millions of other LGBT people and our millions of allies across America,” Goldstein said. “We will remember for the rest of our lives where we were when we heard the sitting President of the United States say he supports marriage equality."

GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney shared his views of gay marriage the same day Obama made his remarks. 

"Well, when these issues were raised in my state of Massachusetts, I indicated my view, which is I do not favor marriage between people of the same gender, and I do not favor civil unions if they are identical to marriage other than by name," Romney told Denver's KDVR-TV.

Obama's comments come only a day after North Carolina's ban of gay marriage and a few days after Vice President Joe Biden said he supports marriage equality rights.

It is also less than a year since Obama repealed "Don't Ask Don't Tell," the 17-year-old law that banned openly-gay people from joining the military. The repeal was enacted on Sept. 20, 2011. 

Currently, six states and Washington, D.C. allow gay marriage.