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发帖数: 4174 | 1 Never has the substantial progress in equal rights and treatment of LGBT
people been more at risk than in this presidential contest. This election
presents a choice between starkly opposing futures.
Barack Obama is a leader of undeniable accomplishment, vision, and
integrity on LGBT rights. His opponent Mitt Romney betrays equality on
numerous issues and aligns himself with a faction of the Republican Party
that does not include equality among its declared ideals.
The Advocate’s last endorsement was decades ago, but the president’s
statement of May 9, unequivocally in favor of marriage equality, along with
his record on LGBT rights, has distinguished him for the ages and has made
it clear that he is a transformational leader and our best choice for
president.
By saying aloud, “I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,”
in a televised interview on ABC, he has sparked conversation domestically
and internationally. While he is our president at home, globally he’s an
icon, a symbol of the promise of America, of the promise of equality. Obama
may be the most prominent man on the planet ever, given the pervasiveness of
modern media and his anomalous and historic nature as the first black
American president; he is surely the single most recognizable head of state
on the globe. By virtue of his unique position, his endorsement of marriage
equality is not merely rhetoric. His words constitute action. On the very
face of it, his statement is enormous, and has the power to move millions in
a way that a statement from no other person could have.
Despite an abundance of hysterical whining to the contrary, Obama is not a
far-left leader. His policies are moderate and only appear particularly
progressive in contrast with the policies of his predecessor, policies that
pandered to the worst instincts of the ultraconservative wing of the GOP. (
Those instincts were evidenced by 13 state constitutional amendment banning
marriage equality in 2004.) Obama’s newly declared position on marriage
equality is not an extreme view, and it is consistent with the view of the
majority of Americans, who believe that same-sex couples should have the
right to marry.
The watershed moment has prompted a number of Democratic leaders, including
Senate majority leader Harry Reid, House Democratic whip Steny Hoyer, and
House assistant Democratic leader Jim Clyburn, to declare solidarity on a
position that would have been untenable just a few short years ago. His
support is having the effect of cementing that position in the mainstream of
American politics. Obama’s statement has also given rise to echoes from
pop-culture figures (Jay-Z, Will Smith) and religious leaders (including
Otis Moss III, the pastor of Obama’s former Chicago church), all of whom
have the power to shape attitudes in distinct and overlapping spheres of
influence. His statements have also been part of the reinvigorated
discussions surrounding marriage equality in the United Kingdom and
Australia.
As a result of Obama’s declaration, which has followed similar declarations
by Vice President Joe Biden, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, and a
number of sitting governors, senators, and representatives, we will never
again see a Democratic presidential nominee emerge from the primary system
with an anti-equality stance. That position would appear too backward to
have legitimacy in the 21st century. Any candidate of either party who
rejects the full equality of LGBTs will be asked to account for his or her
view that we are damaged or inferior, and to explain why rights should be
afforded to some but not all American citizens. |
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