U.S. President Barack Obama has expressed his support for same-sex marriages.

Obama told U.S. broadcaster ABC on Wednesday that after years of conversation with his family and friends, he reached the conclusion that same-sex couples should be able to get married.

Obama is the first incumbent U.S. president to endorse the controversial issue.

U.S. media predict that the U.S. president’s remarks on same-sex marriage will have significant influences on the landscape of the presidential election in November this year, as Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney opposes gay marriages.