Residents in North Carolina voted on Tuesday for a controversial referendum that would constitutionally ban same sex marriages.
This vote comes as a new Gallup survey released Tuesday shows 50 percent of those polled say that same sex marriages should be recognized as legal.
Forty-eight percent oppose it.
President Barack Obama has taken the official position that his views on the issue are "evolving."
President Obama was supposed to speak in North Carolina today, as voters there appeared poised to pass a constitutional amendment banning civil unions and same sex marriage.
Late last week, Congressional offices were notified by the White House that the President would no longer be coming, according to a Democratic source.
Instead, the president traveled to Albany, New York to talk about the economy.
"The only way we can accelerate the job creation on a scale that is needed is bold action from Congress,” said President Obama.
President Obama has said his views on same sex marriage are 'evolving,’ but officially his policy hasn't changed from when he was a candidate.
"Define marriage."
"I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman,” said Obama.
The North Carolina vote and recent comments by Vice President Biden have put his position under the microscope again.
"I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women are entitled to all the civil rights, all the civil liberties,” said Biden, as a guest on “Meet the Press.”
That was Sunday. Then Monday, Obama's education secretary was asked if he believed in same sex marriage.
"Yes, I do," he answered.
Now advocates are renewing their calls for the president to change his position.
"I would like to hear from the President what I have always wanted to hear from the President and what virtually all members of the LGBT community would like to hear from the President, which is that he supports marriage equality and we'd like to hear it sooner rather than later,” said Joe Solmonese Pres., Human Rights Campaign
Even in Albany, President Obama couldn't escape a reminder of the issue.
He was introduced by current New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who headed up the effort to legalize same sex marriage here last year.
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