US News

Bam spurs gay furor: Fellow Dems rip indecision

President Obama jetted into Albany yesterday to tout his jobs agenda in Congress — but ran into more headwinds from within his own party on the gay-marriage issue that Vice President Joe Biden laid at his doorstep this week.

“He should man up and say, ‘This is what I believe,’ ” said Pennsylvania ex-Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, a day after the White House insisted that there had been no change in Obama’s current position but that his views are “evolving.”

Rendell, speaking to MSNBC, said he didn’t think Obama would lose any support from African- American voters by coming out for gay marriage, and added of single-issue opponents of gay marriage: “None of them are voting for Barack Obama now, and they’re not going to vote for him whether he says he’s against it.”

Upstate, Obama toured SUNY Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, a public-private effort that has created thousands of new jobs.

But appearing alongside Gov. Cuomo — who pushed a new gay-marriage law through the Legislature last year — drew even more focus on the hot topic.

On Sunday, Biden threw a spotlight on his boss’ indecision when he surprisingly said that he himself was “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex marriages.

Robert Zimmerman, a Democratic National Committee member from New York, told The Post yesterday, “It’s long past due for the president to stop evolving and start leading on the defining civil-rights issue of today.

“It’s absolutely imperative that he endorse marriage equality.”

One gay activist said the pressure has reached a “fever pitch” — and Obama is certain to face an even bigger push to jump off the fence when he visits New York City Monday. That’s when he is supposed to attend a fund-raiser hosted by gay singer Ricky Martin and a group of prominent gay and lesbian Obama supporters.

Obama did announce that he was opposed to yesterday’s North Carolina vote for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage

Voters overwhelmingly passed the ban, making North Carolina the 30th state to have one.

The North Carolina amendment also prohibits domestic partnerships and civil unions, stating, “Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.”

Earlier yesterday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney hinted that Obama may clear up the issue soon, saying:,