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In reply to the discussion: President Obama Affirms His Support for Same Sex Marriage [View all]kurt_cagle
(534 posts)First, let me see that I think this was an incredibly brave stance for Obama to make, and applaud him for it.
However, while the population numbers are for it, keep in mind that electoral politics don't necessarily equate to total vote percentages. Thirty states have laws on the book banning gay marriages, many including civil unions in that. Six states have voted to support gay marriage, and another 13 support civil unions but not gay marriage. New Mexico is the only state that has no laws on the books regarding gay marriage one way or another. (Colorado, curiously enough is the only inner Western state that supports civil unions, even given the high Christian base there.)
Those 19 states are the locations of concentrated urban centers - NY, Boston, Chicago, DC (for Maryland), Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. I think there are probably one or two others that might switch category (Minnesota, for instance, might move into at least supporting civil unions), so that means that there are effectively 20 states where support for that position would translate into an electoral win. I would not be at all surprised if that also ends up being the breakdown of the electoral college. Hopefully that will be enough.