The Obama campaign announced Monday it would oppose an anti-gay marriage initiative in Minnesota, further illustrating a shift in the president’s views on this controversial issue.

In his 2008 campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama said marriage should be between a man and a woman. But since 2010, Obama has hinted he could change that view and support same-sex marriage in the near future.

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And he appears to be taking a step in that direction by opposing state gay marriage bans. Last month, the campaign opposed it would oppose a gay marriage ban in North Carolina. The Tar Heel state will vote on that provision on May 8th, while Minnesota’s is on the ballot in November.

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“While the president does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the record is clear that the president has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples. That’s what the Minnesota ballot initiative would do — it would single out and discriminate against committed gay and lesbian couples — and that’s why the president does not support it,” an Obama campaign spokesperson told the MinnPost in a statement.

Some Democratic activists are now pressing Obama to support gay marriage before the election, a move he may not make as it could offend some more socially-conservative voters. These Democrats also want to make support of gay marriage part of the official Democratic platform, a move Obama campaign officials have not yet embraced.