Obama applauds gay marriage move at Dem event

President Obama celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision allowing gay marriage to proceed in several states while speaking at a Democratic fundraiser Tuesday in New York City.

“All across the country now, couples who love each other are able to join in that most meaningful of unions,” Obama told a group of approximately 250 supporters gathered at the restaurant White Street in Tribeca.

{mosads}The president’s comments came at the second of two New York fundraisers as he scrambles to raise cash with less than a month before the midterm elections. The first was held at the home of Bill White, a former supporter of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romeny who switched allegiances over Romney’s stance on same-sex marriage.

“I feel that I no longer wish to support your presidential campaign and ask that you please return the maximum contribution that I gave to you last year,” White wrote in a 2012 letter to Romney obtained by CNN. “You have chosen to be on the wrong side of history and I do not support your run for president any longer.”

Obama’s remarks also came just a day after White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the administration had no “specific reaction to their decision not to grant review in these cases,” which allowed to stand lower court rulings overturning gay marriage bans.

Obama has “previously expressed his own personal view that it’s wrong to prevent same-sex couples who are in loving committed relationships and want to marry from doing so,” Earnest told reporters on Monday, noting that a “growing majority” of Americans supported same-sex marriage.

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“But in terms of the Supreme Court’s specific decision not to grant writ of certiorari in these cases, I don’t have a specific reaction,” Earnest said.

The Supreme Court’s decision will mean that gay couples should soon be able to marry in 30 states, with 60 percent of the population living in areas where same-sex marriages are allowed.