In his State of the Union this week, President Obama specifically cited the freedom to marry as an example of "America at its best." It's not the first time that a President has mentioned gay and lesbian couples in the State of the Union, but it's the most emphatic endorsement to date of marriage equality.

"In my six years in office, I have seen America at its best," he said. "I’ve seen something like gay marriage go from a wedge issue used to drive us apart to a story of freedom across our country, a civil right now legal in states that seven in ten Americans call home."


Obama also specifically said that America would "condemn the persecution of women, or religious minorities, or people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. We do these things not only because they're right, but because they make us safer." It is the first time that a president has mentioned trans and bi people in a State of the Union speech. Previously, George W. Bush used a State of the Union address to call for a constitutional amendment to discriminate against gay and lesbian couples; and Bill Clinton referred to hate crime legislation.)

The mention comes at a particularly crucial time for marriage equality. Just a few days earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would consider four marriage cases in its current term. The justices are likely to hear oral argument in late April, with a decision coming sometime around June. The timeframe is still vague, and could shift at any time.

In past federal marriage cases, Justice Department has taken an active role in advocating for the repeal of anti-gay laws.

They are likely to do so again over the next few months, and will likely submit briefs to the Supreme Court in advance of oral argument.

This is quite a turnabout from Obama's first presidential campaign. In 2007, he repeatedly told reporters that he felt marriage "was between a man and a woman."

In fact, in 2008 when California voted on an anti-gay marriage ban known as Proposition 8, Obama's opposition to equality was frequently cited. Just before election day, Prop 8 supporters circulated flyers that quoted Obama as saying "I believe marriage is a union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian, it is also a sacred union."

Those flyers were misleading, since they implied that Obama supported Prop 8, when in fact he opposed it. "I believe it's unnecessary," he said of the measure. "Usually, our constitutions expand liberties, they don't contract them."

Nevertheless, at the time Obama said that he supported allowing states to set the parameters of marriage. In recent years, numerous state and federal courts have found that states cannot, in fact, justify the exclusion of gay and lesbian couples from marriage. To do so is unconstitutional, because there is no rational basis for the exclusion.

But just a few years later, Obama shifted his tone. He endorsed marriage equality during the 2012 election. During his inaugural address, he said that "Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law –- for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well."

The Administration has supported numerous inclusive policies for LGBTs beyond just marriage equality. Obama has been responsible for improved LGBT access to health care, nondiscrimination protection, and immigration policies. There is also an effort underway to ban abusive "ex-gay" torture practices at a national level. 

Obama's mention of marriage equality must have held particular meaning to two of the people in attendance: Jeff and Todd Delmay of Washington, Florida. The two men were the first couple married in Florida, and were guests of Representative Debbie Wasserman Schltz. They were among the plaintiffs who sued the state to overturn its marriage ban. That lawsuit is still in progress, but a District Court judge has allowed marriage to begin since it is unlikely that the state will manage to successfully defend its discriminatory law.