Washington Blade’s Chris Johnson continued to press White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on President Obama’s 1996 support for same-sex marriage at today’s press briefing, leading Gibbs to again dodge the question by re-stating Obama’s now much more conservative position on the issue. At one point Gibbs even seems to accept Johnson’s premise that Obama has to “re-claim” his earlier progressive support for marriage equality:

GIBBS: I was not with the President in 1996…I would simply say that throughout the campaign of 2004 and the campaign of 2008, he’s made his position clear on that.

JOHNSON: Was there a political motivation for the President to drop his support for same-sex marriage as he sought higher office?

GIBBS: Again, I would refer you to my previous answer. [...]

JOHNSON: Will the President re-claim his support for same-sex marriage before the 2012 election?

GIBBS: I’m not in the business of predicting. I think you’ve seen this President be clearly committed to issues of equality and justice…I can speak to 2011 as a year in which a policy like Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell will end.

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In 1996, while running for state senate, Obama told the newspaper Outlines that he supported same-sex marriage, saying “I favor legalizing same-sex marriages,and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages.” Since running for national office, Obama has devloved back to his current position of only supporting civil unions but has recently suggested that he may again “evolve” on the issue. Johnson asked Gibbs a similar question last week.

In today’s installment of State Marriage Watch, Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn will sign a bill recognizing same-sex unions, while lawmakers in Utah are considering legislation to prohibit same-sex couples from making contractual arrangements:

- ILLINOIS: This afternoon, Gov. Patrick Quinn will sign SB1716, the “Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act,” which allows gay and straight couples to enter into civil unions. They will receive some of the same benefits available to married couples, “including the right to visit a sick partner in the hospital, disposition of a deceased loved one’s remains and the right to make decisions about a loved one’s medical care.”

- WYOMING: On Friday, the House Judiciary Committee narrowly defeated House Bill 150, which would have enacted civil unions in the state. Opponents claimed civil unions were a stepping stone to marriage equality and one witness even argued that “contrary to the media’s portrayal of gay couples as loving and healthy, there were “mental and physical health risks involved” with homosexual relationships.”

- COLORADO: State Sen. Pat Steadman said he will soon introduce a measure allowing civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. In 2006, voters approved Amendment 43 to the Colorado constitution, specifying that “only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Colorado.” A 2010 poll by Greenberg Quinlan Roster Research and American Viewpoint showed that 72 percent of Coloradans support legal recognition of gay couples. Republicans hold a slight majority in the state senate (33-32) while Democrats control the house (20-15).

- RHODE ISLAND: The House Judiciary Committee will take up a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in Rhode Island on Wednesday.

- UTAH: State Representative LaVar Christensen (R), who pushed through the state’s same-sex marriage ban, has “reintroduced a bill he tried to run in 2006 which prohibits same sex couples from making contractual arrangements such as wills and financial arrangements.” HB 182, slides in under the generic title ‘Voiding Transactions Against Public Policy’ but would “strip even more rights away from the same sex couples who desperately depend on contractual arrangements as Utah denies them any of the inherent protections afforded to any other couple.”

For a complete overview of the latest developments in the marriage battleground states of Rhode Island, Maryland, New York, California, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Wyoming, Iowa, and New Mexico, click here.

Last year, Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos became the face of the opposition to the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, going so far as to argue that if Congress lifted the ban against open service and allowed gays to serve without hiding their sexual orientation, the Marines could be so distracted that they would die in the line of duty. But since President Obama signed repeal legislation on December 22, Amos has moderated his rhetoric and has now taken part in a video asking Marines to respect and accommodate the policy change:

AMOS: Above all else we are loyal to the Constitution, our Commander in Chief, Congress, our chain of command and the American people….I want to be clear to all Marines. We will step out smartly to faithfully implement this new law. It’s important that we value the diversity, background, culture and skills of all Marines bring to the service of our nation. As we implement repeal, I want leaders at all leaders to re-emphasize the important of maintaining dignity and respect for one another throughout our force.

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Last week, in a sign that the Defense Department is moving to accelerate the process for certifying the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates instructed the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to prepare a plan “to facilitate the timely and orderly realization” of certification by February 4, 2011. Significantly, DOD announced that it would not recognize the partners of gay servicemembers or establish a new non-discrimination policy across the armed forces.

Still, Amos’ support for an orderly implementation — the General did always stress that he would work to change the policy in an orderly fashion should Congress vote for repeal — takes the wind out of the sails of several conservative lawmakers who clung on to Amos’ remarks as a reason to preserve the policy and are now trying to slow-walk the certification process. In fact, Rep. Duncan Hunter Jr. (R-CA) and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (D-CA) both cited Amos as a reason to oppose repeal and are now backing legislation to add the service chiefs to the certification process.