"Although Barack Obama has said that he supports civil unions, he is against gay marriage."

[originalpckelly]

"In an interview with the Chicago Daily Tribune, Obama said, 'I'm a Christian. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman.'

From the White House Web site: President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights."

http://lesbianlife.about.com/od/lesbianactivism/p/BarackObama.htm (I'm not a lesbian, but I would be if I were a woman!)

It's just a word, isn't it? If we get the same rights and privileges, what's the big deal, right?

I live in a nation who's highest leader (the presidents of my life), for every day of my life, think and have thought I shouldn't be able to get married. Most have believed I shouldn't have the same rights as a straight person in this regard.

Now, for me, marriage is sort of an abstract idea. I'm not exactly with someone who wants to get married to me, I'm kind of ugly and no wants me. But say I do run into someone who can tolerate me, I think I'll want to hang to that person, if they're willing. If the only person in this nation who made decisions about this was the president, I'd still have all the rights and privileges of being married, except I'd not be married. Why?

I know why, because someone probably conducted polling about this position, and found out that many Democrats were cool with civil unions, and even many independents, but they weren't cool with us weirdos marrying each other.

OR

He really thinks HIS religious beliefs should dictate my life.

I'd basically be married, but I couldn't call it marriage. It's not that he doesn't believe I can't handle any of the rights or privileges of being married, it's that he thinks I shouldn't be married, because he believes marriage is between a man and a woman.

Why go all that way and not give that last inch? It would be like saying black people could vote in the south, but they dare not call it voting, for fear that someone would be offended. As if the word was the real problem. It's the lack of respect for me and my kind as humans. It's like we're not even real people sometimes.

The problem with gay marriage is not the people who want to get married, it's with the people who think it's their business to tell us what to do in our personal lives, and deny us our due rights as human beings. Including the President.

We GLBT folks should have seen what he was eventually going NOT to do. If he was willing to compromise on a word, it belied some deeper beliefs or political calculations. The fact of the matter is that I'm not a person to this man, I'm an issue, with language to be parsed so well, even people who are like me will not notice the insult of not being "married".

The rights and privileges would be wonderful, but I wonder how much better America would be if we couldn't command enough respect to allow us to use the word marriage. Even from the guy who's supposed to be on my side.

:-(

[cherokeeprogressive]

1. I don't think you're going to get much response to this...

It's what the purists call "Anti-Obama". They'll say it's rabid, and that you never really loved him anyway. They'll call you out, and search your posting history trying to make it seem like you snuck in the door while no one was watching and crashed the "We Love Obama" party.

As for someone who at this moment sits not five feet from a beautiful gay teenage daughter, it makes my heart heavy that what we would NEVER tolerate from anyone else in the context of equality for EVERYONE, we EXPECT people to tolerate in Barack Obama, because well... he's Barack Obama and anything less than TOTAL fealty is tantamount to racism.

BTW... +1 from this end.

[Skittles]

2. Y'ALL GAY FOLK CAN GET ON THE BUS AS LONG AS YOU STAY IN THE BACK

YEE HAW

[cherokeeprogressive]

3. Ain't that about right. Mmmm Hmmm.

[Orsino]

4. Is there any reason to believe he's sincere?

That his pose, identical to that of every other serious presidential contender, just happens to be how he really feels? I don't think we could begin to get an honest picture of his beliefs until he's years out of office.

C'mon, folks. If Congress could pass such legislation, you know he'd go along with it, secretly relieved at ditching the burden of having to lie constantly about the issue. He'd probably even muster the gall to brag about signing marriage equality into law.

But it ain't happening--not in today's America, where the freedom to hate is one of the precious few liberties still left to us.

[originalpckelly]

5. It's about us as much as it is him.

I agree, he probably would say marriage too once it was all done with, but I don't think that's the helpful part. In these times, people like me need allies who won't back down on things as simple as words.

[Orsino]

9. This is all true.

For now, though, an American president can't ally with us on this point. The best-intentioned of them (and I believe President Obama is very nearly one of these) will advocate for nothing more than slipping us tiny pieces of equality, one at a time.

Most of the job was always going to be ours. We have to create a climate in which a politician beholden to focus groups, polls and Fox news can feel safe in joining us. Ditto for Supreme Court Justices.

[dflprincess]

6. For over 20 years he belonged to a Christian denomination that was the first to support Gay marriage

These "religious" beliefs he currently holds must have developed since he left the United Church of Christ.

He's just trying to excuse his own bigorty by pretending it has something to do with being "Chrstian" is just bogus.

[ruggerson]

8. In the 90's when he was running for the State Senate, he supported same sex marriage

usually folks evolve on this issue. He regressed.

[ruggerson]

7. "I'm not a person to this man, I'm an issue"

Nail meet hammer.