President Barack Obama's Minnesota campaign announced Monday that Obama opposes a state ballot initiative that would define marriage as between one man and one woman.
"While the President does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the record is clear that the President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples," Kristen Sosanie, spokeswoman for Obama's Minnesota campaign, said in a statement. "That's what the Minnesota ballot initiative would do -- it would single out and discriminate against committed gay and lesbian couples -- and that's why the President does not support it."
The Obama campaign in North Carolina issued a statement in March with the same language in opposition to Amendment One, which would also define marriage in the state's constitution as between one man and one woman.
Just as in North Carolina, same-sex marriage is already banned by a statute in Minnesota. Unlike the North Carolina amendment, the Minnesota amendment does not mention civil unions or domestic partnerships.
Despite his statements in opposition to the constitutional amendments, the president has said that his views continue to "evolve" on gay marriage.