President Obama Supports Gay Marriage
Options
Replies
-
I'm glad he's finally where Richard* Cheney was eight years ago!
* - I can't put in his preferred first name because it gets censored.0 -
Well that's great news, obviously! But he has been president for how long? 3 years-ish? Why hasn't he said anything or acted on it before now?
Same thing this side of the pond with David Cameron... he has been prime minister for quite some time and says he supports marriage equality but I don't see any action, only empty words with political timing.
I am so disillusioned with politians. I don't have an ounce of faith in a single one. I find it so difficult at election time, I want to exercise my right to vote, but I don't trust a single *kitten* one of them.0 -
Im with the others when I say I'm wary of this also. We all know its a definite political tactic used at an incredibly strategic time. Yes...he said it....so what....He made over 1 million dollars in donations 90 minutes after his speech...everyone jumped up and down clapping their hands, clicking their heels, flying out to donate to his campaign fund...and what especially shocked me was listening to Michaelangelo Signorelli on OutQ radio...even HE fell victim to all the hooplah. Today was a bit different story though. I think after the the awe wore off, (some) people realized his motivation. Again, he said it....so what does that mean for our population??? Sorry to be such a negitive nancy....put it in black and white then come talk to me...0
-
Whether poliical timing ( which I really don't think it is) or not, he had the guts to stand up in front of everyone dispite huge opposing views... like always, with such integrity and poise. Can't say that for most previous presidents.0
-
I'm glad that President Obama supports us. It may have taken him some time, but I definitely feel it can only help our community. It may be politically motivated, but I can tell you that this will not help him get elected here in Ohio. He is still a much better alternative than Mitt Romney, who is no friend of gay people today.0
-
I'm still not a huge Obama fan, but kudos to him for saying this.0
-
I look at this like the lesser of two evils, its better to go with the Dems than certainly the GOP. Obama's statement is appreciated, but it's really nothing more than a platitude of good will. It's essentially just his opinion because they're saying that gay marriage will not be on the Dem platform this election. So, he's for it but also says that states have the right to create their own laws. What's changed between last week and now? Nothing really.
Remember that it took over 100+ years for all the local and states discrimination and segregation laws to be overturned after the end of slavery and the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. This is going to be a long road that lasts a lifetime or more. The haters are going to fight even after it passes. I'm not pessimistic, but realistic and still grateful for the progress however it comes.
However, this is when I'm really glad I'm bi-national and currently living in the UK. I really feel like a second class citizen in the States in comparison because there is such open and tolerated hostility towards LGBT folks.0 -
I do think it was partially political, but I also think it's something he has been genuinely coming to terms with over the years. His hand might have been somewhat tipped by Biden's comments as well as comments made by the Secretary of Education in the week leading up to the announcement, but insiders also seem to think that those comments could have been "lead-ins" all along, breaking the ice, as it were, to a planned announcement that was coming anyway.
Why didn't he announce before North Carolina? Because he (and all of us) knew that the anti-gay marriage proposition in North Carolina was gonig to pass... how would it look for Obama had he announced his support, only for NC voters to shoot it down there anyway (which they would have)? It would have made him look weak and the GOP could have used it to make him seem out of touch ("A resounding NO! to Obama's leadership" etc. etc.). He was smart to wait, as he is smart in a lot of other ways.
Do I want to see more action from him? Yes! But these things do take time, whether or not we get impatient. For a sitting President to announce his support of gay marriage, in a nation where 30 out of 50 states have expressely forbidden it, leading up to an election year... that takes a great deal of courage. I can't be so cynical as to think it was all about politics because, if it was, he would never have done it.0 -
-
It's telling that people are accusing him of supporting gay marriage for political purposes. Four years ago it would have been political suicide, not political pandering. Karl Rove was putting gay marriage referendums on state ballots all over to increase turnout among religious conservatives, and a lot of Democrats running for state offices lost as a result. (Yet at the same time, many of those Republican candidates had gays as top campaign advisers. Politics makes strange bedfellows, no pun intended.)
This fight can't be won by executive fiat. It's being won because public perception is changing. The good news is that trend can't be reversed just because congress passes some hare-brained law or the public elects some homophobic jerk because his opponents split the progressive vote.
But Obama will probably still lose Pennsylvania because of it. We just elected Pat Toomey, for pity's sake. Obama may be viewed well in by history for taking this position, but there will be a lot of negative consequences in the short run.0
