Since  President Barack Obama announced he was in suppport of same-gender  marriage and added, however, it was a states right issue, the issue has  been dominating news broadcasts and print news headlines. The  announcement has produced various reactions.

For  example, the Colorado State Legislature voted against a bill to allow  civil unions in the state. This was pretty much a split along party  lines. Obama, a Democrat, is for allowing same-gender marriage.  Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney defines marriage  as 1 man and 1 woman and is against civil unions, but is for certain  rights under domestic partnerships. The Colorado vote split for and  against on those party positions.

Then  there was the outlash in black churches across the nation this Sunday  that has a split among the ministry about how forcefully to condemn and  not support the President or to rally around the issue as a continuation  of the civil rights movement. Either way ministers came down Sunday, church members reportedly decided overall to support the President for re-election even if they disagree with him on religious grounds on the issue.

Evangelicals  and social conservatives have been given a reason to come out and  support Romney in his quest to unseat the President. For the Romney  campaign this was an unexpected gift. But rather than capitalizing on  the issue, Romney has tried to keep the focus on the economy, jobs and  the national debt.

But  not everyone in the Republican Party has fared the issue as smoothly as  Romney seems to be. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, son of presidential  candidate Congressman Ron Paul, got some heat for a joke he made over  the weekend. And the heat came from conservatives and Evangelicals.

Senator  Paul quipped, “The president recently weighed in on marriage and you  know he said his views were evolving on marriage. Call me cynical, but I  wasn’t sure his views on marriage could get any gayer.”

That  brought a rebuke from Chris Hartman, director of the Fairness Campaign,  a Louisville-based group that promotes civil rights for gay, lesbian,  bisexual and transgender people.

“I didn’t think that Rand Paul’s  positions on anything could get any more bigoted, but he certainly has  jumped the shark on that one,” Hartman said in an interview.

“This  guy has got the worst track record for civil rights of any contemporary  politician that I can think of and I am embarrassed for him to  represent the state I call home,” he added.

R. Clarke Cooper,  executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, a national GOP group  that advocates equality for gays and lesbians, also denounced Paul’s  remarks.

“Senator Paul’s comments were inappropriate and  immature,” Cooper said in a statement. “The issue of marriage equality  and the fundamental dignity due LGBT Americans under our law merits  serious, respectful debate.”

Paul also was criticized by the head of the conservative Family Research Council, which opposes gay marriage.

Tony  Perkins, president of the council, said Sunday on “Face the Nation” on  CBS that he did not see the humor in the senator’s comments.

“I  don’t think it’s a laughing matter. I don’t think this is something we  should joke about,” Perkins said. “We are talking about individuals who  feel very strongly one way or the other, and I think we should be civil,  respectful, allowing all sides to have the debate. ... It’s not  something to poke fun at other people about. This is a very serious  issue.”

http://courier-journal.com/article/20120514/NEWS01/305140059/Sen-Rand-Paul-chastised-gay-comments?odyssey=mod|mostview

Of  course the pollsters have been out as well. The President may not have  helped himself that much with his decision to "come out".

A  New York Times/CBS News poll released Monday night shows the possible  political perils of President Obama's recent announcement that he  supports same-sex marriage.

Most of those polled say the  president's position will not impact how they vote. But among those who  say it will influence their choice, 26 percent said they are less likely  to vote for Obama as a result, while 16 percent say they are more  likely to.

Also troubling for the president is that a majority of voters suspect that his decision was politically motivated.

Sixty-seven  percent said they thought Obama's announcement was made "mostly for  political reasons," while 24 percent said it was "mostly because he  thinks it is right."

In another potentially damaging sign, 70  percent of Independents attribute the president's move to politics,  along with nearly half of Democrats.

Overall, Romney now has a  three-point edge over Obama — a lead that is within the poll's margin of  error — despite improving views of the economy. The Times/CBS poll had  the race dead even a month ago. Romney now leads Obama among  Independents, and has a 1-point advantage (again within the margin of  error) among women.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/poll-obama-gay-marriage-stance-could-hurt-him-084104738.html

In  what seems an unusual outcome, it is being reported that Hispanic  immigration reform groups are sidling up to GLBT activists to push  together for civil rights and the reforms. The Hispanic community has  been reported to be not so open to gays much like within the black  community. Yet now the GLBT and Hispanics are joining forces.

President  Barack Obama's shift to support gay marriage is energizing young  Hispanic voters who have been working side-by-side with gay activists in  their push for immigration reform. The alliance has been growing  nationwide and helping dispel what many say is an outdated notion that  Hispanics are less tolerant of gays than the general public.

"My  members are telling me that we need to learn from the gay community,"  said Dee Dee Garcia Blase, founder of the Phoenix-based Somos  Republicans. She is now head of the Tequila Party, which she formed last  year with the goal of registering young Hispanics to vote for  immigration-friendly candidates like Obama.

"We need to take a  lesson from the (lesbian and gay) community with regard to being that  loud, squeaky wheel that gets fixed," Blase said. "We need to be more  aggressive, and we realize it."

http://startribune.com/politics/151504125.html

As Walter Cronkite would say, "And that's the way it is."

From the Cornfield, that's the roundup of news from the same-gender marriage debate that appears to have a life of its own.