I'll admit I was offended/saddened by the segment on gay marriage in the VP debate. But I think this is a good time to share a message that I received from the Obama campaign when I asked them to share Obama's views on GLBT issues.
"Dear Friend,
Thank you for contacting Senator Barack Obama and Obama for America with your thoughts on LGBT rights. We appreciate hearing from you.
Senator Obama supports economic, social, and legal rights for gays and lesbians. He supports full civil unions, expanding hate crimes statutes, fighting discrimination at work and in housing and other places of public accommodation, and wants to increase adoption rights. He opposes any Constitutional ban on gay marriage, opposes the Defense of Marriage Act, and opposes the current “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military, which weakens us in a time of global challenges.
Barack is a global leader in the fight against AIDS. He traveled to Kenya and took a public HIV test to encourage testing and reduce the stigma of the disease. In late 2006, Barack Obama worked to reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act, one of the largest sources of federal funds for primary health care and support services for patients with HIV/AIDS.
Senator Obama has consistently supported LGBT rights, and will continue to work for an open, tolerant society where people of all sexual orientations are protected and their contributions are valued. Thank you again for writing.
Sincerely,
Obama for America
---------------------------------------
Paid for by Obama for America"
So hopefully this cheers you all up as it does me, that under Obama there will be far more equality than under McCain.
Pengertian Asuransi
7 years ago
3 comments:
I was also offended by the way both Biden and Palin responded, but with Palin it was more expected. Biden tried to pretend that opposing gay marriage was out of some desire to protect religions' right to define marriage as they wish. I found that very deceitful. The fact that the government sanctions heterosexual marriage and refuses to sanction homosexual marriage has nothing at all to do with religions, and both Obama and Biden know it. The government needs to apply the same word to both straight and gay unions, whatever that word is. While Obama may increase the level of fairness, his position still does not include total equality, and that is unacceptable. I do understand that many people would not vote for him if he supported gay marriage, perhaps enough to jeopardise his chance at winning. Nevertheless, I am very disappointed that even Obama refuses to support total equality.
For any candidate to openly endorse gay marriage would be political suicide at this point. We do not need a martyr, we need change. The fact is, McCain and Palin want to take away any rights we may have. Obama and Biden will strengthen our community. If you believe for one second the republicans will stand up for our community, you are sadly mistaken. We need to keep in mind that Rome wasn't built in a day, and unfortunately, as race and sexism is playing a large roll in this election, we need to support the candidate who will move us forward, and not backwards. That candidate is Barack Obama. Don't let your idealistic views of an American gay utopia cloud your vision. Bottom line, for the GLBT community, McCain bad, Obama good!
I would also like to say our rights are OUR responsibility. We can't just sit back and expect they will be handed to us on a silver platter. For those of you who want to complain, what have you done to help our cause? How many letters have you written to your state legislators? How many pride events have you attended? How many elections have you voted in? How much time and effort have you spent trying to help our community gain equal rights? Do you get what I'm saying? Again, our rights, our responsibility. If we can't gain acceptance through our own efforts at the state and local levels, then why should we place unfair expectations upon one or two people? Get off your butts and work for what you want.
That seemed a trifle unnecessary. I'm not sure if you were directing your comments to me, but if so, you seemed to me making a lot of assumptions.
I would also like to say our rights are OUR responsibility. We can't just sit back and expect they will be handed to us on a silver platter.
I don't think anyone here is "sitting back" or waiting for any "silver platters".
For those of you who want to complain, what have you done to help our cause? How many letters have you written to your state legislators? How many pride events have you attended? How many elections have you voted in? How much time and effort have you spent trying to help our community gain equal rights?
I can't speak for anyone else (and neither can you), but I've been as involved as I can be. I can't vote as I'm not a citizen, but I HAVE written letters to both State and National representatives/senators, participated in Pride and other gay affirmative events and rallys, and am quite involved in several aspects of gay rights in this country.
Do you get what I'm saying? Again, our rights, our responsibility.
They're not just "our" rights. They're everyone's rights. They're just human rights, not gay rights, not black rights, not women's rights. Everyone is responsible, not just GLBTQ people.
If we can't gain acceptance through our own efforts at the state and local levels, then why should we place unfair expectations upon one or two people? Get off your butts and work for what you want.
They're not unfair expectations at all. It's perfectly fair to expect the people who run the government to pass laws that protect the rights of ALL citizens.
The fact is, McCain and Palin want to take away any rights we may have. Obama and Biden will strengthen our community. If you believe for one second the republicans will stand up for our community, you are sadly mistaken... Bottom line, for the GLBT community, McCain bad, Obama good!
Is anyone saying otherwise? I know I'm certainly not.
My point was that regardless of the (possibly legitimate) reasons for Obama not supporting full equality, I was disappointed at the way Biden addressed the issue, and found it to be dishonest the way he explained his opposition to gay marriage.
The fact is, there should never be a debate about "granting" equal treatment and rights to all people. It should be a no-brainer. I get that it is not in the country, and that there are a lot of bigoted, homophobic people in the US, but again, that wasn't the point of my comment. My point is that the gov't of the US is not living up to its constitutionally mandated responsibilities, and the fact that even the democratic party's candidate doesn't fully admit that is pretty sad.
Post a Comment