“For me personally, it is important to affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”

— President Barack Obama, announcing his support for marriage equality in an interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts (ABC News, May 9)

“What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love. That’s their business. It’s no different than discriminating against blacks. It’s discrimination plain and simple.”

—Hip-hop artist Jay-Z, supporting President Obama’s marriage equality announcement (Huffington Post via CNN, May 14)

“Let me make it very clear, that my preference is to have a national standard that defines marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman.”

— GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney (CNN, May 9)

“Once people begin to see the similarities between themselves and others, instead of focusing on differences, they come to recognize that equality is essentially a matter of human rights and human dignity.   The president’s growth reflects the growth of many Americans on this issue.”

— Civil rights icon and U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) (via press release)

“With his embrace of phony ’gay marriage,’ Obama outs himself as a soulless panderer with no core beliefs. He mocks his own Christian profession.”

— Peter LaBarbera, founder for Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (via Twitter, May 9)

“Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law. The NAACP’s support for marriage equality is deeply rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and equal protection of all people.”

— Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, on the historic civil rights group’s passage of a resolution backing gay marriage (Press conference, May 21)

“Call me cynical, but I wasn’t sure his views on marriage could get any gayer.”

— U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), mocking Obama’s announcement in a speech to the Faith & Freedom Coalition (Mediaite.com, May 12)