Local Group Backs President's Statements on Same Sex Marriage

It has been a long wait for President Barack Obama to finish soul searching on the topic of same-sex marriage but, said Ron Streicher, vice president of San Gabriel Valley Pride, it appears it was worth it.

On Wednesday, the president told ABC News he had changed his position and now supports gay marriage.

While media outlets highlighted that there were only six months before the November election and the pitfalls of taking such stance, residents across the area quietly celebrated the President’s announcement.

“We’re happy that it’s now out there and hope it will eventually lead to marriage equality for all people in the area,” Streicher said.

The Valley Pride group serves Diamond Bar and puts on an annual pride festival in October on the campus of Pasadena City College. Its goal has been to educate communities about the gay community, he said.

Ideally, they would like to see several laws and acts that inhibit the gay community’s right to marry repealed, such as the Defense of Marriage Act.

“I don’t honestly foresee that happening,” he said.

President Obama made his comments to ABC's "Good Morning America" Robin Roberts.

"I've been going through an evolution on this issue. I've always been adamant that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally," the president said. "At a certain point, I just concluded that for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think that same-sex couples should be able to get married."

What do you think? Do you support same-sex marriage and the president’s stance?