“I’ve just concluded that for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” said President Barack Obama in a White House interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts on May 9.

With these remarks, Obama has become the first President of the United States to openly endorse same-sex marriage.

Alye Pollack ’15, president of the Gay-Straight Alliance, could not believe the news that Obama supported same-sex marriage.

“When I first heard about it, I thought it wasn’t true,” Pollack said. “I saw it go all through my newsfeed and I was like, ‘Finally, pride in my country.’”

Principal John Dodig was also excited upon hearing of Obama’s endorsement.

“I never thought I’d live long enough to hear an United States president say those words,” Dodig said. “I think it’s another indication that the country is evolving.”

President Obama himself has said his views of same-sex marriage continue to “evolve.” In 1998, while running for re-election to the Illinois state senate, Obama said he was, “undecided” on legalizing same-sex marriage.

However, in 2004, Obama said, “I am a fierce supporter of domestic partnership and civil-union laws. I am not a supporter of gay marriage as it has been thrown about, primarily just as a strategic issue. I think that marriage, in the minds of a lot of voters, has a religious connotation.”

Kenzie Furman ’12, a member of the GSA, understands why same-sex marriage troubles some people: “I think the term ‘marriage’ bothers some people because they want it to be considered a religious sacrament, and the Bible doesn’t endorse same-sex relationships,” Furman said. “I don’t really think it matters if it’s called marriage or not, as long as everyone has the same rights, and I think in the past Obama has felt the same way.”

Hours after Obama declared his support for same-sex marriage, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage while campaigning in Oklahoma City.

“I have the same view on marriage that I had when I was governor. I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman,” Romney said. “I have the same view I’ve had since, well, running for office.”

The timing of the announcement has some Staples students and teachers questiong the impending political ramifications

Nick Esposito ’15 believes that Romney was more sincere in his remarks regarding same-sex marriage.

“He [Romney] has always had conservative views, so he doesn’t come across as trying to play the political game,” he said.

What remains to be seen, however, is how Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage will impact the upcoming presidential election.

For Chris Fray, advisor of GSA, the endorsement is risky.       “I think that people going to the polls are not going to say, ‘I support Barack Obama on so many things, but because he said that about gay marriage, I’m not going to vote for him,’” Fray said.

Three days prior to Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage, Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” with David Gregory, “I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties.”

Along with Massachusetts, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Washington, and Maryland, Connecticut is one of eight states that has legalized same-sex marriage. However, in comparison, 31 states have constitutional amendments that ban same-sex marriage.

“Unfortunately, it’s tied up in a religious issue. From my point of view, it has nothing to do with religion. It’s a civil rights issue,” Dodig said. “If a church doesn’t believe in it and doesn’t want to marry a same-sex couple, that’s their right.”

Pollack uttered a similar message: “Some dudes marry dudes, some chicks marry chicks.”