This is significant – President Obama chimed in today to support the various marriage campaigns happening in Maine, Washington, Maryland, and Minnesota.

He doesn’t just support marriage equality personally, he’s advocating for voters to join him – that’s a big step that a number of us have been asking for. The President’s statement for Maine is below, but you can see the rest, and a bit more background at Buzzfeed.

“While the president does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the president believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect,” said Michael Czin, Northeast regional press secretary. “The president believes same-sex couples should be treated equally and supports Question 1.”

Chris goes on to explain the measures in the four states:

In Washington state, voters will decide in Referendum 74 whether to approve the marriage equality bill passed and signed into law earlier this year… In Maryland, voters will likewise vote on a referendum, Question 6, to decide whether to vote for the marriage equality bill passed and signed into law this year…. In Maine, after having lost a referendum vote in 2009, supporters of marriage equality have affirmatively pushed forward an initiative on the measure, Question 1.

And in Minesotta, they’re trying to add a ban on gay marriage into the state constitution, the same thing that Mitt Romney wants to do at the federal level.

It’s worth noting the role that Joe Sudbay and AMERICAblog played in this story’s evolution (Joe was the one who got the President to say he’s “evolving” on gay marriage).