BY JAMES NIMMO
Funny, isn’t it, how politicians can talk on and on about almost any topic, except when it comes to the civil rights of America’s gay and lesbian taxpayers, especially when it the topic is same-gender marriage.
Our rights are held hostage by the un-holy alliance between religion and civil law.
Our inherent birth rights are ours throughout our lives and not an optional feel-good action to be granted or withheld at the discretion of a political poo-bah when he/she thinks it will pull votes from one demographic or another.
Our civil rights are not a red flag to wave at rabid fundamentalist believers who are as sheep-like as their leaders are adept at herding.
Our rights are the same as those enjoyed by the rest of America’s population and our gender attraction should be irrelevant to that recognition.
I would suggest that President Obama, through his mouthpiece Robert Gibbs, is wrestling with his religious views when he can’t seem to give a – pardon the pun – straight answer about same-gender marriage.
Obama speaks of the “traditional” image of marriage as being between one man and one woman, but that “tradition” also meant the couple was of the same skin color. Wasn’t the traditional image of an American president that of a white man? Wasn’t the traditional image of the Speaker of the House that of a white man? Wasn’t the image of a state governor that of a white man?
But on second thought, Obama IS giving a straight answer – that is a straight answer rooted in the ignorance of his upbringing and failure to move with the reasonable information that proves we gays and lesbians are productive taxpaying citizens.
Our president has sworn to uphold the Constitution that includes the 14th Amendment http://tinyurl.com/y9lp75a which covers my civil rights as a native born citizen as well as the First Amendment’s clear separation of church and state http://tinyurl.com/6as4v.
If this man, who was touted as a constitutional scholar during his first campaign for president, can equivocate on my rights as a citizen, I will certainly use my vote in 2012 in a way that clearly denies him a second term.
Here’s a YouTube clip of the attempt by spokesperson Gibbs to call off questioning about Obama’s intentions concerning gay/lesbian equality:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT2KMjTRHsE
But Obama’s position since has been that marriage should be reserved for one man and one woman. Still, the president has suggested his position could “evolve” on the matter and said last month he’s “wrestling” with the idea of marriage rights for gay couples.
“Like a lot of people, I’m wrestling with this,” Obama said in an interview last month with The Advocate. “I’ve wrestled with the fact that marriage traditionally has had a different connotation. But I also have a lot of very close friends who are married gay or lesbian couples.”
http://www.washingtonblade.com/2011/01/24/gibbs-nearly-ends-news-conference-over-marriage-questions/
Thanks to Rex Wockner, indie journalist, for the links.
– James Nimmo lives in Oklahoma City and is an occasional contributor to The Oklahoma Observer
