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Obama's words fired up others. Sitting at an outdoor cafe, 26-year-old West Hollywood resident Artie Calhoun said he's pleased Obama was bridging a generational gap for gay rights. While many young people seem comfortable with gay marriage, Calhoun says, people in older generations, including his father, struggle to understand homosexuality. "If we have a voice in the White House who outwardly supports us, that absolutely helps understanding, 100 percent," he said. In Richmond, Va., Jeff Wells was delighted at what he called a historic moment. The bed-and-breakfast owner said he thought Obama's prior reluctance to speak out on the issue was politically motivated, and he was "pleasantly surprised that he had the courage to" to back same-sex marriage. Wells married his partner in Massachusetts in 2009, but their union isn't recognized in Virginia, where voters earlier approved an amendment to the state Constitution that defines marriage solely as the union of one man and one woman. "When I was 25 years old, I never conceived that ... I would one day be married to a man I loved," Wells, 50, said. Others reacted with skepticism. Delsa Bernardo, who co-owns Yiya's Gourmet Cuban Bakery and Café in Miami with her girlfriend, backed Obama in 2008 but has since become disillusioned over economic issues. She said she's happy he's spoken out in support of gay marriage but wants to see what actions he takes to back up his words. Bernardo said she is frustrated with the Obama administration over the difficulty in getting loans despite the federal bailouts he supported. She's had to pay out of pocket $1,600 this month for an industrial juicer and a glass case to display her popular red velvet cupcakes, as well as $4,000 for roof repairs because she can't get a loan. She hasn't paid herself in two weeks. "I'm happy and I think it's about time our country does it," she said. "But I don't think it's all `Whoo-hoo!' I mean, who cares who you're sleeping with?"
[Associated
Press;
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