Singer Clay Aiken says he is more enthusiastic than ever about voting for President Barack Obama after his historic endorsement of same-sex marriage last week.

'I think all gay men and women are probably more energized to vote for President Obama now,' Aiken said during an appearance on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday. 'I'll definitely be helping out.'

The openly gay American Idol alum, who is the father of a young son, more than held his own during a discussion about gay marriage that also included anti-gay Family Research Council head Tony Perkins, Republican campaign strategist Mark McKinnon, gay activist Evan Wolfson, and attorney Ted Olson who is leading the legal battle to overturn California’s Proposition 8.

'We are seeing minds changing and people becoming more open and understanding when it comes to homosexuality,' Aiken said. 'People made the same arguments against interracial marriages as they are against same-sex marriage today. I really strongly believe that in the next 20 years, we're going to look back on this and sort of be ashamed of the fact that we were against this - just as we are ashamed today that we didn't let people of different races get married.'

Aiken also addressed the religious argument against same-sex marriage with some churches protesting that they would be forced to marry gay couples.

'When my mother married my stepfather, she went to a Baptist church and said she had been divorced. They wouldn’t let her get married there. So churches are able to decide who gets married at a church.'