W.H. Press Secretary Can't Think of an Action Obama Has Taken in the Past Year to Support ENDA: VIDEO

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked yesterday by the Washington Blade's Chris Johnson about the President's commitment to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which is being introduced in Congress this week.

Said Carney:

"The administration will continue to work to build support for this important legislation because we believe that this is the right way, the right approach to take, because it is inclusive and that’s why we supported it then, that’s why we’re glad to see it being reintroduced."

When asked for "one thing" the President has done in the past year to build support for ENDA, Carney couldn't really say:

“His support for this specific legislation, I think, is reflected in the fact that it’s being introduced, as you said, in the House and the Senate. And he will work with like-minded lawmakers who support movement on this legislation to see it pass and ultimately signed into law. That’s how this process works. This is the approach the president thought was the right one to take and he’s encouraged by the progress being made.”

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

In a piece by Reuters last week which noted the White House's sluggishness on the issue, Lambda Legal's Jon Davidson said "there's more that he can do" and in March, 110 House lawmakers signed a letter calling for Obama to bypass the languishing legislation and issue and executive order protecting LGBT workers from discrimination.

Pressed After Obama Inaugural Address, White House Maintains That Marriage is Not a Federal Issue

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked today if the Obama administration's position on marriage has shifted following his inaugural remarks yesterday that "our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well."

It has not, the Washington Blade reports:

NBC News’ Kristen Welker was first to ask whether the remarks — which suggested a national call to support marriage equality — represent a shift in Obama’s way of thinking from his previous position that marriage should be left to the states and not handled at the federal level.

“The President’s position on this has been clear in terms of his personal views,” Carney replied. “He believes that individuals who love each other should not be barred from marriage. He talks about this not about religious sacraments, but civil marriage. And that continues to inform his beliefs. We have taken position on various efforts to restrict the rights of Americans, which he generally thinks is a bad idea.”

Carney indicated that Obama’s believes Section 3 of DOMA, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage, is unconstitutional based on the belief that the federal government shouldn’t be involved in marriage.

“One the reasons why we believe that Section 3 of DOMA is not constitutional is because we should not addressing it in that way,” Carney said.

Carney also said that the White House would not actively move to oppose Proposition 8, which sits before teh Supreme Court:

Well, as you know, the administration is not party to that case and I have nothing more for you on that. We have, as you, know through the Department of Justice taken an active role in DOMA cases, which is why I can tell you the things I told you about that. But on this Section 8 case, we’re not involved.

He later told Politico, "As you know, and I can make it clear, the president’s personal view is that it’s wrong to prevent couples who are in loving, committed relationships and want to marry from doing so. The values that the President cares most deeply about are how we treat one another, and respect one another. For him, it just boils down to treating others the way that we would want to be treated ourselves and the President has made it absolutely clear that his views are about civil marriage, as I said, not religious sacraments."

White House: 'Today is Not the Day' for Gun Control Debate - VIDEO

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked today about Obama's campaign promise to work to review the proposed assault weapons ban. Carney told reporters that given the unfolding status of the horrific tragedy in Connecticut "today is not the day" to engage in policy debates about gun control.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

White House Prefers Legislative Route For All-Inclusive ENDA

Washington Blade reporter Chris Johnson asked White House Press Secretary Jay Carney yesterday whether President Obama planned to revive a shelved executive order barring anti-LGBT discrimination among government contractors.

The short answer is no. The longer answer is that the White House wants to model an ENDA-type law's progress on the Don't Ask, Don't Tell model: that is, fight for it in Congress.

"Our position on that hasn’t changed,” Carney told Johnson during a press briefing. “We point to, as you and I have discussed, the process that led to the effective repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as a model for the way to approach these issues. I don’t have any updates for you on our approach."

He went on, "The president supports an inclusive ENDA that would provide lasting and comprehensive protections for LGBT people across the country regardless of whether they happen to work for a government contractor, and we look forward to continuing to support that process and that legislation."

Johnson asked Carney about the ability to pass such a controversial piece of legislation — addressing transgender discrimination is far more difficult than addressing anti-gay discrimination — in a GOP led House, to which Carney replied, “Many people said just that, even though it was in the prior Congress, about repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ We believe that the country has moved dramatically on issues like this, and that this president is committed to civil rights and to building on protections that are necessary for LGBT people as he is for all Americans.”

You can read a transcript of Johnson and Carney's exchange AFTER THE JUMP.

Obama Campaign Releases '47 Percent' Ad: VIDEO

The Obama campaign is out with a video based on Mitt Romney's "47 percent" remarks.

We asked Americans what they thought about what he said to his donors. As one woman shares: "I don't think anybody's ever looking for a handout. I think that..we all want are chances and opportunities."

WH Press Secretary Jay Carney was also asked about the remarks today at a press briefing.

Said Carney:

"When you're president of the United States, you're president of all the people...What unites us as Americans is far greater than what divides us...Setting aside what Gov. Romney thinks, I can tell you that the president certainly doesn't think that men and women on social security are irresponsible or victims. That students are responsible are victims. He certainly doesn't think that middle class families are paying too little in taxes."

Watch both, AFTER THE JUMP...

Also...geographically, where are the 47%? The Atlantic posts a graphic showing the highest non-payers of taxes are in red states.

White House Anticipates More Questions for Obama on 'Personal' Gay Marriage Views, Won't Comment For Him

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was questioned again by reporters today on President Obama's 'evolution' on marriage:

Q    On the gay marriage issue, Jay, has the intensity of interest in this and the statements from some of the President's supporters led him to consider clarifying his position?  And considering that his views are evolving, does he want to maybe consider his views more thoroughly?

MR. CARNEY:  Well, I don't have a readout of any conversations involving the President on that issue.  I can tell you that I'm sure it is the case that he will be asked again at some point when he gives interviews or press conferences about this issue, and I'll leave it to him to describe his personal views.

I think it's important to note, as I attempted to do yesterday, that what is abundantly clear is this President's firm commitment to the protection of and securing of the same rights and obligations for LGBT citizens as other Americans enjoy.  He has been a strong proponent of LGBT rights, and I think that's demonstrated by his record, which is unparalleled, as President in support of those rights.

Q    Jay, you said yesterday on this issue in reference to Vice President Biden's remarks and the President's, that the President's personal views obviously were evolving, and you stressed the personal views.  I guess is there maybe a disconnect between his policies and his personal views in terms of maybe his policies are ahead of his personal views on this?

MR. CARNEY:  No, I don’t think so.  I think the President's absolute commitment to the rights of LGBT citizens demonstrated by the path he took to ensure the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," the opposition that he and his administration have expressed towards DOMA and the fact that he believes it ought to be repealed.  It is also the case that the President and the Attorney General believe that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional, which is why the federal government no longer defends Section 3.  And from hate crimes legislation to hospital visitation rights, the list of accomplishments is quite long and I think demonstrates his feelings about, broadly, this issue.

The press gaggle was held aboard Air Force One on the way to Albany, New York where Obama would be meeting with Governor Cuomo.

Q    Do you think he'll talk about it with Cuomo considering he's received a lot of plaudits from the LGBT community?

MR. CARNEY:  Well, I think -- I don’t know what their conversations will contain.  I know that they'll focus on the issue that the President has come to discuss in upstate New York. I think the President has taken a position on some of these state issues, and I think he did on New York and he has in North Carolina.  And I think the position he takes has -- the positions he has taken are consistent with his belief that it is wrong to take actions that would deny rights to LGBT citizens or rescind rights already provided to LGBT Americans.  And that’s a position that you can fully expect him to maintain.

For a brief time on Wednesday of last week, Obama had been scheduled to be in North Carolina today, where of course, Amendment One is topic #1, the News Observer reports:

The White House initially did not respond to questions about the scheduling snafu but later spokeswoman Joanna Rosholm issued a statement: "Any confusion around today's travel plans is due to an internal miscommunication at the White House. The President will travel to North Carolina again soon."

The alert about the Obama visit came about noon Wednesday and was changed by 5 p.m. The White House's official week-ahead schedule released at the end of last week put the president in New York today, not Asheville.