2004 he believed that marriage is between a man and a woman, a view he held running for president four years later. >> i am not somebody who promotes same sex marriage, but i do believe in civil unions. >> once elected he said, "my feelings are constantly evolving. i struggle with this." the tipping point came sunday when his vice president announced on meet the press he supported same sex marriage. >> i am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual men and women married are entitled to the same exact rights. >> just three days later the president told abc news his evolution on the issue was over. >> it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that i think same sex couples should be able to get married. >> it's a major victory for liberals and the gay and lesbian community, but for conservatives and the religious right it is a heightening rod

for controversy. today mitt romney again said that he -- lightning rod for controversy. today mitt romney stopped short of calling the president's announcement an outright flip- flop. >> i just saw the reports that said he had previously opposed same sex marriage and now he's saying he supports it. so if that's the case, then he'll be able to make that determination. >> joining us to talk about it, emily heck, director of public policy at the family equality council. i must note that we had invited derek mccoy, a pastor at the prince george's county and executive director of the maryland marriage alliance which is leading the efforts to overturn same sex marriage in maryland through referendum. pastor mccoy has not been able to get here yet. so we will talk to emily by herself. thank you for coming. how big of deal is this for the gay and lesbian community? >> this is a very big deal and a great day i think, a huge step forward for equality by

our president. >> it's interesting. the log cabin republicans who are a gay republican group said hey, it's too little too late. what about yesterday in north carolina when they turn back same sex marriage? they could have used his support then. >> the president had to take his time and like many americans he spoke to gay and lesbian families that he knows, co-workers, friends. he had conversations with his family. he talked about conversations with his wife and children. it takes people time to kind of come to their own reconciliation with this issue. >> i got to bring up the fact in 1996 he told guy and lesbian newspaper in chicago yeah, i'm all for gay marriage and all of a sudden in owe 8 he's against it. now he's for it -- in '08 he's against it. now he's for it. it's political, isn't it? >> the president has been unequivocal in his support for equality. he has done -- moved mountains basically since he's been in office and has been more pro lgbt equality than any other president we've had.

today's announcement is a huge step forward. >> are you worried at all this will inflame his opponents and perhaps cost him key votes in some key states come november? this could be a sad victory if he loses? >> i think this is not any divergence from what he's done before. he made it clear that he wants equality for his employees at federal level. i think that will serve to energize his base, show he is a man of principle, that he's willing to talk about the way he really feels and his positions on some vernal issues. >> there is a weird -- very personal issues. >> there is a weird dichotomy out there where it shows like people are for same sex marriage, but every time it comes up for vote it gets turned back, including california which is a pretty liberal place. >> i think that's true, but what we've learned since 2008 with the proposition 8 vote, we've learned how to talk about

this issue. i think some of the mistakes in the past is we haven't put the lgbt families in front and same sex couples raising their children every day, haven't had conversations with our co- workers, neighbors, families and friends that we need to have about why this issue is so important. you're right. the polling since 2008 has gone off the charts. we are now over a majority of americans are in fave of same sex marriage. i think we'll see that -- favor of same sex marriage. i think we'll see that going forward. >> thank you for being here. we appreciate it. now you've heard what at least one person had to say about this. does the president's decision change how you view him or how you might vote? weigh in. mcginty's mailbag, the address mailbag at wusa9.com. meantime the governor of maryland announced a budget deal heading into next week's special session of the general assembly. lawmakers were not able to agree on a spending plan during regular season that ended last month which put in motion a budget that calls for more than

half a billion dollars in cuts in education and other officers am some folks call it the doomsday -- services. some folks call it a doomsday proposal. there is a preposed income tax hike on individuals making more than $100,000 a year. cathy lanier will stick around as top cop in d.c. signing a five-year extension to stay on as chief of the metropolitan police department. wtop reports her salary will remain the same, $253,000 a year. she's got no raises or bonuses. lanier has been chief since 2007. loudoun county supervisors will decide the fate of phase 2 of metro silver line when they vote july on whether or not to opt out. that includes a poe posed staying at dulles airport -- proposed station at dulles errant. today a local consequence

today we have the report. >> reporter: stage 2 is supposed to include two stops in loudoun county right here along the greenway, but loudon supervisors may not let that happen. >> i have nothing against dulles rail. i think it should stop at the airport. i don't think loudoun county residents will benefit from it. >> reporter: supervisor ken reed is unconvinced after listening to economist steven fuller. >> the outcome is more residential development with less commercial development, a higher tax burden for residents. this is a no brainer. >> reporter: fuller says with rail loudoun county will tract high density development that will bring tens of thousands of high paying jobs. without rail he says by 2040 loudoun county will miss out on $200 billion in economic growth. >> it's clear-cut to me this is a once in a century opportunity for the opportunity. >> reporter: peggy fox, 9 news now.

now an update on the beating of a virginia man at bat's inner harbor. prosecutors dropped -- baltimore's inner harbor. prosecutors dropped 13 of the 20 charges filed in that case including the first degree assault counts. four people were arrested. the court commissioner filed an initial list of charges. the state's attorney's office modified that list to reflect its assessment of the illegal conduct. the four suspects are now charged with second degree assault and robbery. is it definitely do or die night for the capitals down to -- it is definitely do or die night for the capitals down to 3-2 in the eastern conference finals and kristen berset is live where the puck drops at about 20 and already it's very loud. >> reporter: can you hear me? the music is on. the guys are on the ice warming up. the fans are getting pumped. this is a big game for the capitals. they face elimination tonight if they lose to new york, but

this team has been resilient all year long, especially in the postseason. if you remember, they blew a 3- 2 lead only to beat boston by seven, but the caps actually, if you look back until march, the caps have yet to lose back to back games. they're 3-0 after overtime losses this postseason, but the problems they have had is here at the verizon center. they were so dominant during the season but have struggled here in post season. the guys are just chomping at the bit. they want to play tonight. >> another game, we're excited to get back in and compete again and we're just excited for an opportunity to win at home. >> i don't think we deserve to end the season right now. >> reporter: i also want to point out the young net minder braden holtby in 28 start he has yet to lose back to back games. lots of numbers in the

capitals' favor. like you said, the puck drops just moments way. we'll have postgame reaction tonight at 11:00. >> we hope it's a happy time there at the verizon center. we've been talking about we needed some rain. be chafe what you ask for -- careful what you ask for. what about these showers, top? >> mainly just showers west of town and some thunderstorms are east of town, but they'll get out of here around midnight. here's live doppler 9000. essentially if you're going out 66 or up 270 or either direction on 95 or toward annapolis, you've got rain showers, a little bit of an embedded thunderstorm down towards fredericksburg into southern maryland, but nothing severe, just occasionally a little heavier downpour. temps, down 10 degrees in the last hour at national, 61. it's 57 in gaithersburg and leesburg. jump the divide. it's 48 in oakland. you are headed out tonight, you need a jacket with your umbrella. showers and storms ending by

midnight, breezy, cooler, lows in the 50s, winds northwesterly 10 to 15. the question is will these showers give way to a nice finish to the week? we'll have that answer when we come back. >> we'll look forward to that. still to come from victim to crime solver, a d.c. man devised a scheme to recover his stolen bike. >> but first police in one maryland county warn drivers buckle up and officers are crack down if you don't -- cracking down if you don't have on your seatbelt.

we're getting ready to bust out the reading glasses next time you're looking for a parking spot on m street and southeast. that's because these ddot signs are getting ready to be installed there. they include parking information that used to be on a whole lot of signs. the goal is to reduce sign clutter. wow, okay. traffic safety is something we should all practice of time we climb behind the wheel, but montgomery county police have designated this as click it or ticket month. so they've got extra cops on patrol looking for drivers who are not following the basic traffic safety rules. >> officers will be traversing from the d.c. line to the frederick county line looking for those people not wearing seatbelts. >> who doesn't wear their seatbelt? the fine is 25 bucks. officers are also making sure any children in the car are buckled up properly in car

safety seats. the ticket for that one is $60. another rainy night on tap, but sunny skies will be along soon. topper tells us if they will stick around for our weekend. we'll see his forecast in a couple minutes. >> but first he had his bike stolen and found it days later for sale on craigslist. how this d.c. man took parties into his own hands to get his ride back. that story is up next. ♪

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from victim to crime fighter, a d.c. man decides to take matters into his own hands after somebody stole his bike. first he found it posted online in an ad on craigslist and as anny hong shows us, he then came up with his own scheme to get that bike back. >> oh, i was furious. i knew immediately that it was my bicycle. >> reporter: danny lesh found his stolen bike being sold on craigslist a day after it was stolen. the asking price? one hundred dollars for the cannondale hybrid bike he had bought more than 10 years ago for 600. >> i started making contact with the seller just text messaging. >> reporter: the two agreed to meet. lesh hopped a cab to meet the seller and they were negotiating price. >> asked if i could take it for a test ride. he agreed. i got on the bike. i looked at the taxi driver and i said all right. i'm going to take it for a test ride and i took off. >> reporter: they agreed to meet here at fifth and

longfellow streets in northwest d.c. monday afternoon. now the taxi driver had been a victim of theft himself, so he wanted to help out. he was waiting for lesh just down the street. >> i got 4 blocks away. i had the taxi pull up behind me. i got the bike into the trunk of the taxi and we were on the other side of town when the thief call mid cell phone asking me where it was. didn't answer. so he left a message threatening to call the police on me. >> reporter: after filing a police report lesh did call d.c. metro police asking for a plainclothes officer to aorist and possibly make an arrest, but after -- to assist and possibly make an arrest but after several phone calls was told an officer wasn't available. >> i had served them up a criminal on a platter and for whatever reason they weren't able to do it. >> two days after he got his bicycle back he found even more bike ads listed from that same guy who was selling his stolen

bike. police have not commented on the case except to say it is under investigation. >> i'm 8 years old, somebody went on my porch and stole my bike in that very same neighborhood. >> really? >> it might have been that guy. >> could have been, maybe his grandfather. >> oh. >> okay, maybe his dad. >> let's make it his dad. >> we're looking at some showers, a couple thunderstorms around the metro area, but the real key will be cooler weather. grab a jacket if you head out. here's a live look outside, live live weather cam brought to you by michael and son. we still have clouds and light rain, temps down to 61, high 75 about an hour and a half ago. winds out of the north, northwest at 13, first front is through and the pressure 29.69 and rising, also an indication the front is through. here's a look at live doppler 9000, pretty covered up across the entire metro. heaviest activity is still south into southern maryland down toward leonardtown in st.

mary's county and into the northern neck. we'll zoom in a little. mainly just light to occasionally moderate activity but enough to slow everybody down going home. we're looking at rain up 270, rain out 66. this is light to moderate around leesburg and out 50 and past gaithersburg up toward frederick generally light to occasionally moderate. heaviest activity is really on the other side of town around college park toward beltsville and laurel indicated by yellow, not severe, just a little heavier downpour. this will be out of here by midnight. temperatures, look at this, 61 downtown, 51 rockville, 58 in bethesda, 59 beltsville. we're looking at 57 in leesburg and still 66 in manassas, don't really understand that temperature. the front is through the district and points west. it's still a little warmer

toward davidson vile and annapolis 71. the front is not -- davidsonville and annapolis, 71. the front is not quite through you guys yet. windy and cooler tomorrow morning. you'll need shades and a jacket and breezy and cool friday. for tonight showers and storms ending by midnight, breezy, cooler, partial clearing, low temps in the 50s, winds northwest 10 to 15. by morning partly cloudy, breezy, cool, 50s and 60s for temps. factor in that northwest wind, it's going to feel a little chilly. by afternoon keep the jacket. partly cloudy, breezy, cool, highs near 70 which means some areas holding in the upper 60s and winds northwest 10 to 20 that. will make it feel a little chilly. we'll break it down. 50s to start, cool noon, temperatures in the 60s and maybe 67 to 72 by 5:00. so again temps about 6, 7 degrees below average tomorrow. next seven days.

nice friday, sunshine, still impresesy, temps should make it over 70 and -- still decent, temps should make it over 70 and a better chance for showers getting into monday. >> looks like a nice weekend, sir. we'll see you in a minute. >> we want to hear what you think. send your e-mails to mcginty's mailbag, the address mailbag at wusa9.com. 9 news now will be right back.

[ singing ] in our mailbag tonight same sex marriage. president obama now saying he evolved to the point of supporting it and tonight robin likes that. what difference is it on who marries whom, men marrying men, women marrying women, men marrying women. it's all the same. how narrow minded can some people be? >> robin, i'm on your side on this, but for a lot of folks this is an issue of religion and right and wrong and for them that is one very big difference and then from john in shall tilley who worns how come the headlines -- in chantilly who wonders how come the headlines read the gop would block interest rates that would raise student loans.

the republicans want to pay for it by taking money from some healthcare fund and the democrats object to that. so why can't the headlines say that the democrats blocked the student loan rate freeze or more accurately, our dysfunctional legislative body can't conduct the business of the nation? well, john in, this case it's because democrats are in the majority in the senate and they could have passed the bill they wanted if those republicans hadn't filibustered and blocked it. finally this on a compromise proposal offered by a federal judge trying to decide whether or not a virginia school can post the 10 commandments. he says why not just omit the first four commandments which are the ones that mention god? debbie from fredericksburg says that's crazy talk. take away our first four commandments? now i've heard everything. what a ridiculous thought. this country was founded on those commandments and the belief in god. when are people going to realize if they don't like wait this country works, they don't have to stay -- the way this country works, they don't have

to stay here. while most of our founding fathers were believers their founding idea was the government's doesn't force anybody's idea of god on anybody else. so while the judge's plan may not work for you, it just might work for the constitution. our e-mail address is always working, mailbag at wusa9.com. that is our report. i'll be right back here at 11:00. don't forget log on any time to www.wusa9.com. we'll see you a bit later. have a great evening. bye bye.

now, "entertainment tonight," the most watched entertainment newsmagazine in the world. was rihanna rushed to the hospital after the met gala? why did she post this photo getting an iv? what our sources know and "vogue's" andre leon talley's reveork's most fashionable night. from a star's wardrobe malfunction to a style that flopped. >> the details that you haven't heard from inside. >> anna wintour is awesome. >> it was a great party. plus, did sofia vergara just split from her boyfriend? and the too-skinny fashion heiress steps out. is allegra versace still battling anorexia? the latest on the john travolta lawsuit. a second male massage therapist filing sexual battery charges. will more men come forward? >> we have enough documentary evidence surrounding how it happened. >> plus, how john travolta is fighting back. new marie osmond on