Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, said in a statement that the president's remarks were not surprising and that they create a clear distinction between him and likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who is against same-sex marriage.

"The President's announcement today that he supports legalizing same-sex marriage finally brings his words in sync with his actions. From opposing state marriage amendments to refusing to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to giving taxpayer funded marriage benefits to same-sex couples, the President has undermined the spirit if not the letter of the law," Perkins said Wednesday.

"The President has provided a clear contrast between him and his challenger Mitt Romney. Romney, who has signed a pledge to support a marriage protection amendment to the U.S. Constitution, may have been handed the key to social conservative support by President Obama," the FRC president continued.

Maggie Gallagher, co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and director of the Culture War Victory Fund, echoed Perkins' statements.

"On the one hand, morally this is good because lying to the American people is always wrong. President Obama has come clean that he is for gay marriage," she said.

She added, "Politically, we welcome this. We think it's a huge mistake. President Obama is choosing the money over the voters the day after 61 percent of North Carolinians in a key swing state demonstrated they oppose gay marriage.

"We now have clear choice between Romney and Obama, and we look forward to demonstrating in November that it's a bad idea for a national candidate to support gay marriage. Marriage is a winning issue for the GOP."

Obama revealed in an interview with ABC News Wednesday that after years of pondering the issue, he now supports marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

"At a certain point I've just concluded that, for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think that same-sex couples should be able to get married," Obama said.

The president's comments come after Vice President Joe Biden said on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that he is "fully comfortable" with same-sex marriage. Education Secretary Arne Duncan shared a day later that he is also on board with homosexual marriage.

Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) President Andrea Lafferty explained that it was clear where Obama stood on same-sex marriage even since Vice President Biden made his views known on Sunday.

Lafferty started: "This isn't exactly a bold move by the president. Forced by Joe Biden's big mouth, Obama had no choice left but to publicly embrace an agenda he has privately promoted for years.

"I've been saying this for the last four years. Obama has always been in favor of homosexual marriage, but was forced to keep his enthusiasm at a distance for fear of offending the American public.

"Obama needs new friends. His leadership has completely alienated Wall Street, financial investors, small businesses, soccer moms, and virtually every other constituency by pushing his radical ideology at a time when America needed principled leadership. Who better to appease than the LGBT community with tons of disposable income to fund his re-election campaign?" she continued.

Not all members of the faith community were critical of the president, however. Some, like the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy from the Interfaith Alliance, praised Obama for his support of same-sex marriage:

"President Obama's affirmation of the right to same gender marriage today is an important and historic moment in the life of the nation. His statement shows that he understands his role is to protect Constitutional principles over sectarian ideology. While I appreciate that the president thinks his position is consistent with his faith - a belief I have long held -- it is the Constitution, not his religion that should form the basis of his position.

"The continued denial of equality to the LGBT community is an anachronism in today's world. I hope and trust that the President will now lead us down a path towards public policy that codifies the right to marriage equality for the LGBT community."

Obama, a Christian, noted in his interview with ABC that his support for gay marriage "may be considered to put us (Obama and his wife) at odds with the views of others but when we think about our faith the thing at root that we think about is not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf but it's also the golden rule - treat others the way you'd want to be treated."

Source: Christian Post | Stoyan Zaimov