outfront tonight, a bombshell from the president. he has made it clear, finally, that he supports gay marriage. now, the announcement comes after days of mounting pressure to explain his quote/unquote evolving position, his words, on the controversial issue. here's how he put it to abc news' robin roberts. >> i have just concluded that for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> the human rights campaign immediately released a statement saying obama's presidency has shown that our nation can move beyond its shameful history of discrimination and injustice. and celebrities and politicians took to twitter to celebrate. ellen degeneres tweeting thank you, president barack obama, for your beautiful and brave words. i'm overwhelmed. new york mayor michael bloomberg wrote president barack obama's announcement is a major turning point in the history of civil rights. there were even tweets from former bush administration officials. with the praise came immediate outrage. the family research council released a statement saying redefining marriage remains outside the mainstream of american politics. mitt romney wouldn't comment on what the president said, but he did take the opportunity to explain his position on this issue. >> i have the same view on marriage that i have -- had when i was governor and that i've expressed many times. i believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. >> outfront tonight, we're going to go straight to barney frank, the chairman of the house financial services committee and the first openly gay member of congress. chairman frank, good to talk to you again, sir. it's been a while and i'm glad it's under circumstances like this. what does this mean to you personally that the president did this today? >> well, i'm very pleased. it's both a cause and an effect. obviously as well intentioned as the president is, as much as he is opposed to discrimination, lots are constrained by public opinion. although the good ones like barack obama try to move it. it is a sign that things have evolved. no president could have done this ten years ago. secondly, it will be very helpful because it will help persuade other people about this and i think about 15-year-olds in school somewhere being picked on and bullied. now the president of the united states has said, hey, you know what, you're as important as anybody else. you have the same worth as anybody else. that has an enormous impact. >> did the president talk to you about this before? any of his senior staff? did anyone reach out to you before he decided to say this? >> not recently. i have had conversations with him over time. back before he took what was actually the most important step, which was his repudiation of the discriminatory piece of legislation known as doma, the one that says that people of the same sex who were married don't get any federal benefits. at the time i told people in the white house who asked me about this, i haven't talked to them recently about it. >> some of the things you said before, gavin newsom came out in support of same-sex marriage in 2004. at the time you said it was a symbolic point but diverted attention from the real struggle of gay rights. >> no, no, you've gotten the quote wrong. i'm sorry, i have to make it clear. i was all in favor of his being for same-sex marriage. it was not a dispute about whether he was for it. my problem was at the time we were fighting hard to save same-sex marriage in massachusetts, which had been legally decreed and where we were trying to defeat mitt romney's effort to undo it, gavin newsom, what i objected to it wasn't that he said he was for it. i was glad he was for it, i objected to his announcing that the city of san francisco could now, regardless of california law, allow same-sex marriage. that was the problem. he was wrong. he said you can all get married. people got married. their marriages were annulled. there was a great deal of heart break. i thought it was an irresponsible thing to do because there was never any chance those marriage would be valid. so what i was critical of, i was in the federal congress and in massachusetts fighting to protect it but doing it in a responsible way. what gavin newsome was doing was announcing to people i can marry you, when he couldn't. >> that's the symbolic move you were referring to. you said something else, chairman. you said 15-year-olds could look at what the president had said and it would make a difference for them. you know, if you're a teenager and realize that you're gay, that you have the same rights as somebody else and it could change the way that you see the world and deal with people who are bullying you or looking down on you, what was it like for you? you have been someone who has been a trail blazer in this, a person who is open about your sexuality before pretty much anybody else was. in what really is an old boys club, and it couldn't have been an easy thing to do. >> well, you're right. let me put it this way, i didn't think it was going to be easy. i agonized over it. i'm about to have a 25th anniversary of my voluntarily coming out. i said if they asked me, i'd tell them. i thought it would be a problem. i think i caught the wave. that is, things are getting better. and i hope i've helped with that, but i've also been the beneficiary of it. but for me now, i'm getting married in a couple of months. when i was 15, when i was 35, even when i was 55, if someone had had said to me, you know what, you're going to be retiring from congress, you'll have been chairman of a very important committee, you will have done very significant work in the field of financial services and you're going to get married to a man whom you love very much as a member of congress, i would have been disbelieving. so, yeah, that means a great deal for me and i must say it makes me feel even better about my country, that this is a country that has the capacity to deal with it in a constructive way and help things get better for all of us. >> you know, i had an experience today that happened before the president's interview. i don't know, maybe it was an omen that it happened today. i ran into a friend i haven't seen in a long time. i was walking on fifth avenue from a doctor appointment. i ran into him and he got engaged this weekend. you know, sort of like you. now that he can get married. he got engaged and he had this really great ring. he was showing me his ring and we were joking about masculine and feminine engagement rings and what they looked like. it was a great kof,. >> let me get into this. mine is tungsten. the man i'm marrying, he's a welder and he picked out these rings. tungsten is symptomatic and he's a very practical guy. he knows my propensities. i break things. so he told me this is unbreakable. we'll see. >> i love it, i love it. thank you for sharing that. i got engaged myself recently, so i was curious. thank you for sharing that. >> mazeltov. >> and to you as well. wonderful to talk to you again. >> thank you, erin. outfront ahead, an exclusive investigation into a murder at the kentucky derby. we found the dark side of horse racing and have an exclusive report for you of what we found in the past 24 hours. and the new face of terror. just who is the al qaeda bomb maker who's determined to attack this country? 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[ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ outfront 2, the political fallout from the president's announcement today. the national organization for marriage was quick to point out saying president obama has now made the definition of marriage a defining issue in the presidential contest, especially in swing states like ohio, north carolina, virginia, florida and nevada. but was this move really risky or not? john avlon, roland martin and clark cooper executive director of the log cabin republicans are with us now. good to see you all of you. john avlon, risky or not risky? >> this was considerable political risk. there's no question. you look at some of the swing states at play in this election. north carolina, which last night overwhelmingly voted to ban same-sex marriage. virginia, even ohio, pennsylvania, so this is high stakes. but this is also moments where character is revealed. you know? i'm reminded about a quick story of lyndon johnson when his advisers told him not to do civil rights after becoming president because it wasn't pragmatic. he said what the hell is the presidency for? i think we just had one of those moments. >> here are the differences. lyndon johnson signed a law passed by congress. we talked about all these national polls showing that the majority of americans support same-sex marriage, yet there have been 32 referendums where the voters have gone to the polls. same-sex marriage supporters are 0 for 32. >> there's the political risk. >> it's hard to sit here and say what a poll says when really in politics, votes matter. >> people are not pro the issue. >> we have 2.1 million people who voted yesterday. president obama won north carolina by 14,000 votes in 2008. literally. if 15 to 20,000 people say i don't want to vote for him this time around, he loses north carolina. >> that's why it's a profile in courage, because it goes against the polls and many of the votes. >> clark, let me get you in here. let's talk about what the president has done on this issue in the past. i am one who believes on some issues it's okay to flip-flop because you do evolve as a person. that being said, 1996, the president wrote in a questionnaire i favor legalizing same-sex marriage. two years later he wrote undecided and since then, here's the president. >> there are a whole host of things that are civil rights and then there are other things, such as traditional marriage, that i think express a community's concern and regard for a particular institution. >> so marriage is not a civil right as far as you're concerned? >> i don't think marriage is a civil right. >> my feelings about this are constantly evolving. i struggle with this. there's no doubt as i see friends, families, children of gay couples who are thriving, you know, that that has an impact on how i think about these issues. i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> so lots of back and forth there, but clark, you're frustrated because he waited too late. a day late, a dollar short. >> we're talking about what happened yesterday. there's north carolina, we talked about that ballot measure that took place. so there was some calculus there. but to go back to the issue of where elected lawmakers, where policy makers can get to the point where they're actually saying they're for marriage equality isn't unique. we certainly saw it happen at the highest level so far to date. so prior to today and joe biden earlier in the week, the most senior voice out there for a while on marriage equality was dick cheney. so this has really turned it up a notch. but we have seen this on both sides of the aisle. my former boss, the most senior woman in the gop conference, she's a committee chair, she was not initially in favor of same-sex marriage and she's there now and she's the first republican on the repeal of the defense of marriage act. so people are getting there and it does reflect a trend analysis not just in the general electorate but amongst self-identified conservative vote evers. >> the president of the united states now says he's for marriage between a man and a man and a woman and a woman and mitt romney says i do not favor marriage between people of the same gender and i do not favor civil unions if they are identical to marriage. other than by name. >> well, on this particular issue, we do differ with governor romney. he knows that not only from our positions but we had that conversation in february when he spoke at the american conservative union cpac. he knows where we are. he knows we're working to repeal the defense of marriage act and we are for same-sex marriage and freedom means freedom for everyone. with that said, when it comes to the endorsement process, it's not unilateral. i have a board of directors, chapter leaders and there's a multi-step process and it's not just one issue. but does this factor in? absolutely. >> are you going to vote for mitt romney or barack obama? >> well, i can tell you right now, we are looking at all the issues on the plate. as i said, the economy is the number one issue right now. marriage does factor in. so i don't want to belittle this at all, it's very important. it's part of our portfolio, but not the only issue. >> clark, you said we. you. the question for you, as an individual, not as the head of a group, will you support mitt romney or president obama as a result of this announcement? >> that's a point i'm not just an individual, i do represent a constituency within the republican party so at this point, we're working with a number of republican candidates up and down, including openly gay republican candidates for congress, which is a first from our party. so as far as the endorsement process is concerned, we're not there yet and we won't be until august. so this is not completed. and there's some room to grow for candidate -- there's room for grow for mitt romney on this portfolio. >> well, that would be a huge flip-flop if he goes back on that. roland, this is interesting. when we talk about a party that's becoming more owned by its base and a platform that continues to be defined by social issues, i think this is a very key example of that. >> of course. but this is what we've heard. we've heard this from democrats and republicans that one issue will not determine who they actually vote for. you have pastors who are surrogates of president obama in 2008 who are not happy at all today. >> right. >> when they go into that pulpit on sunday, they have a decision to make. that is will i stand here and criticize the president but then say i still support him or am i putting my prophetic voice before my partisan voice? >> that's one of the reasons this is so politically risky. let's just recall the irony. here the republican candidate mitt romney wants a constitutional amendment and the president seems to be standing for states' rights. >> there's an irony. >> yes. >> and what else, log cabin republicans in 2004 when bush/cheney went with their battleground state ballot strategy, a lot of republicans sat that one out. so this is an issue where principles get skewed. >> senator john kerry can tell you when there's a ballot initiative. 2004, the gay marriage issue was on the ballot in ohio. he lost by 100,000 votes to bush, many people say because of this initiative. so again, it's very risky for the president. i think today he's helped mitt romney out in terms of closing the gap. what i'm looking for the next seven days, those first round of polls in those battleground states, if we see shrinkage there, we can tie it to today's decision. >> well, that's going to be amazing. you learn in economics, people focus on the negative. outsourcing overseas, and negative on their own -- and positives on prices. negative on gay marriage, negative on abortion. >> so all the talk, this election will be about the economy? it might be about a social issue. >> the american way. thanks to all three of you. we appreciate it. coming up, the dark side of horse racing. we have an exclusive investigation outfront tonight. and how did a mole get inside al qaeda and foil a bomb plot? well, tonight we have a double agent, former double agent, coming out front. you'll see him in shadow and his voice will be disguised. need any help? uh, nope. just, uh, checking out my ad. nice. but, y'know, with every door direct mail from the postal service, you'll find the customers that matter most: the ones in your neighborhood. print it yourself or find a local partner. and postage is under 15 cents. i wish i would have known that cause i really don't think i chose the best location. it's not so bad... i mean you got a deal... right? [ bird cries ] go online to reach every home, every address, every time with every door direct mail. in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪ and the next great idea could be yours. the words are going this way-there's no way. oh, the lights came on. isn't technology supposed to make life easier? at chase we're pioneering innovations that make banking simple. deposit a check with a photo. pay someone with an email. and bank seamlessly with our award-winning mobile app. take a step forward... and chase what matters. outfront 3, the money and horse racing is big-time. for example, the new york horse racing association recently increased the purse size for the belmont spring meet by more than 26% to $9 million. the average daily purse for this meet will be $620,000. but it comes with a lot of risk. the most expensive horse -- racehorse called green monkey sold at auction for $16 million. that horse raced for just two years. it won only $10,000. tonight we have a special report on a story that began this weekend in the dark of night after the world watched the pomp and circumstance of the 138th kentucky derby. when the crowd left churchill downs, one man stayed behind. 48-year-old adan perez was a stable worker from guatemala. he was found murdered just steps away from where the winning horse, i'll have another, was being kept. our ed lavandera had an exclusive interview with perez's son who gave us details on the murder mystery and a look at the darker and seedier side of horse racing. >> reporter: the mystique of kentucky derby day draws tens of thousands to watch a millionaire's game. the glamorous fashion, a tip of the hat to a bigone era. what many might not know about horse racing is that on that side of the racetrack, it's a completely different world. that's where all the fanfare and the beauty of race day takes place. it's a different story on this side of the track. this is the forgotten side of a horse track. it's called the back side. a secluded world of transient workers in the horse racing industry. some 600 people live on the back side of churchill downs in louisville, kentucky. it's where 19-year-old wilson perez worked alongside his father, adan perez, until adan's body mysteriously turned up in barn number eight just hours after one of the most famous horse races in the world. wilson perez is speaking about his father's murder for the first time. [ speaking in spanish ] >> how difficult have these last days been? >> wilson says it's been very hard supporting everyone in my family. i need to stay strong. wilson perez is one of adan's seven children. their family lives in guatemala. wilson begged his father to bring him to the united states two years ago so they could work together. they groomed horses. son walking in father's footsteps. wilson says the last time he spoke to his father was around 11:30 saturday night, just a few hours after the final race of derby day. wilson says his father called from a restaurant. he was out with friends. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: he said everythi