“I’ve always thought it as something that was still holding the country back,” the rapper told CNN, referring to bans on same-sex marriage. “What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love. That’s their business. It is no different than discriminating against blacks. It’s discrimination plain and simple.”
One of the president’s most skeptical constituencies, in fact, is the African American community, as many of its religious leaders are skeptical of gay marriage; ABC News reported on Monday that Obama reached out to many of the top pastors to explain himself on the issue, with many calling themselves “conflicted.”
For his part, Jay-Z shrugged off the potential loss of support — not because he didn’t believe it would happen, but because he said that backing gay marriage was more important than winning votes.
