Barack Obama Will Officiate White House Social Secretary Jeremy Bernard's Wedding

It's been a little over a month since President Obama finally declared he believes (part of) the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. But today he's announcing he's going a step further: he's agreed to officiate the wedding of his newly installed social secretary Jeremy Bernard.

Bernard was named to the post in February and becomes the first man (and first out gay person) to hold the position. But Bernard and his partner Rufus Gifford (pictured R-L) -- who helped raised serious cash for Obama's 2008 presidential campaign -- are unmarried. Obama has offered his services to fix that.

As you might've heard, Washington D.C. has legalized same-sex marriage and, despite House Republicans' best efforts, it remains the law of the land. Which is where Bernard and Gifford plan to wed in spring 2012. (You thought they'd get in the way of Kate and William?) And Bernard -- who served as a senior adviser to America's French ambassador after his two-year gig as the White House liaison to the National Endowment for the Humanities -- will supposedly plan just a smidge of his own ceremony, being the anal type-A that he is. Maybe just the invitations and desserts?

Obama, meanwhile, is still hedging somewhat on his support for gay marriage; he has yet to say he thinks it should be legal across the land, but he clearly supports the right of gays to get married where it's legal. (Evidently, Obama's views have truly evolved.) That he's agreed to be the one to marry two gay men, meanwhile, will be the most visible signal yet of his pendulum swing. And I mean visible literally: There are going to be photos of this published all over the world.



More:
http://www.queerty.com/barack-obama-will-officiate-white-house-social-secretary-jeremy-bernards-wedding-20110401/