Gay marriage: How Americans, like Obama, are ‘evolving' on the issue

— -- President Barack Obama  is being interviewed Wednesday afternoon by Robin Roberts of "Good Morning America." It is his first public interview since Vice President Joe Biden's surprise declaration of support for gay marriage on "Meet the Press."

Obama, who supported gay marriage as a state senator, has since said he supports civil unions, not marriage, for same-sex couples. As president, he has said his position is "evolving." Mitt Romney opposes gay marriage and civil unions.

North Carolinians voted to change their state Constitution to reject gay marriage and civil unions on Tuesday by a 20-point margin, but  polls from the Pew Research Center show that the attitudes of Americans overall have shifted rapidly toward accepting same-sex marriage over the past 10 years.

For the first time, more Americans say they support gay marriage than say they oppose it. Public opinion is sharply divided by age, however. Of those born after 1981, 63 percent are in favor of gay marriage, while only 30 percent of those born before 1945 are in favor.

Democrats and independents are also much more likely to support gay marriage than Republicans. Yet 40 percent of black voters favor gay marriage, compared to 47 percent of white voters, even though a larger percentage of black voters identify as Democrats.

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