Jillian Rayfield June 29, 2011, 1:26 PM

In his Wednesday press conference, President Obama dodged a question about whether he personally supports same-sex marriage: “I’m not going to make news on that today — good try though.”

Obama also wouldn’t say whether he thinks marriage is a civil right, instead characterizing it as a state level issue: “What you saw was the people of New York having a debate, talking through these issues. It was contentious, it was emotional, but ultimately they made a decision to recognize civil marriages. And I think that’s exactly how things should work.”

The President was responding to a question from NBC’s Chuck Todd, who asked: “Do you believe that marriage is a civil right?”

“This administration,” Obama replied, “under my direction, has consistently said we cannot discriminate as a country against people on the basis of sexual orientation. And we have done more in the two and a half years that I’ve been in here than the previous 43 presidents to uphold that principle.”

He cited the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” hospital visitation rights for gay and lesbian partners, and the refusal to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, among other things, as part of the Administration’s accomplishments to that end. “We have made sure that that is a central principle of this administration because I think it’s a central principle of America.”

On the DOMA decision, Obama referenced states’ rights, explaining that they decided not to defend “the federal government poking its nose into whats states are doing, and putting the thumb on the scale against same-sex couples.”

“I think it is important for us to work through these issues,” like New York did, he continued, “because each community is going to be different and each state’s going to be different.”

“So I think what the states are doing, what the courts are doing, the actions that we are taking administratively, all are how the process should work,” he added.

When Todd pressed him on the civil rights issue, comparing it to segregation-era America, Obama said: “I think what you’re seeing is a profound recognition on the part of the American people that gays and lesbians and transgendered persons are our brothers, our sisters, our children, our cousins, our friends, our co workers, and that they’ve go to be treated like every other American.”

“I think we’re moving in a direction of greater equality,” he said, “and I think that’s a good thing.”

Barack Obama, Gay Marriage, Marriage Equality, New York