Thursday, August 05, 2010

Barack Obama Betrays LGBT Americans - Yet Again

While LGBT citizens around the nation celebrate yesterday's historic - and well reasoned and well written ruling - that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, our faux "fierce advocate" in the White House is again making it clear that he prefers illegal religious based discrimination over full CIVIL Law equality for same sex couples. Frankly, I am over Obama's mealy mouthed, double speak bullshit. By coincidence, I was invited to attend a local Democratic Party event yesterday evening celebrating Obama's birthday. My response? No way in Hell would I attend anything honoring this bald faced liar. A further irony is that I'm the liaison to the local Democratic Party for LGBT issues. Crazily, I am being asked to rally LGBT Virginians to support the Democratic Party - even as the top Democrat betrays me and countless others LGBT citizens. What doesn't the larger Democratic Party understand?
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Personally, what really torks me with Obama is that he, as the son of a mixed race couple who would have been arrested had they lived in Virginia at the time of his birth, continues to side with the Christianist who use the Bible to denigrate gays just as they used it to oppose interracial marriage - and to suppot slavery in earlier generations. WTF is wrong with the man? Has Obama read any of the writings of Thomas Jefferson such as his draft of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom? Apparently not. Andrew Sullivan puts the question to Obama as follows:
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If the president does not support my right to marry, then he does not support my equality, according to the ruling. And you will note that Axelrod does not provide an argument as to why the president does not support civil marriage equality. Because the real argument would be: a) I'm too afraid of the culture war to take a stand; or b) I find the notion of two women getting married icky; or c) unlike my former congregation and whole swathes of American Christianity, my religious viewpoint demands that gay people be separated from the institution of civil marriage because it offends religious sensibilities. So which is it, Mr President? Are you really for equality or not?
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Andrew is 100% correct. You are either for equality and equal protection under the Constitution for ALL citizens or you are not. It's like being pregnant -you either are or you are not. Here are highlights from The Hill on Obama's betrayal of LGBT Americans:
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President Obama remains opposed to same-sex marriage despite a federal judge's decision to strike down a ban on such marriages, a top White House adviser said Thursday.
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Senior adviser David Axelrod said the president supports "equality" for gay and lesbian couples, but did not address directly Obama's position on Wednesday's court ruling, which struck down as unconstitutional California's Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage in the state.
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"The president does oppose same-sex marriage, but he supports equality for gay and lesbian couples, and benefits and other issues, and that has been effectuated in federal agencies under his control," Axelrod said on MSNBC.
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My bottom line? I will support individual Democratic candidates - locally, that translates to Booy Scott and Glenn Nye - who have voted for me and my equality under the law. Obama and the Democratic Party as a whole? They can kiss my ass. I remain committed to Don't Ask, Don't Give. Oh, and as an interesting side note, Andy Tobias, DNC Treasurer, is blaming John Aravosis and LGBT bloggers for LGBT dissatisfaction with Obama and the DNC rather than facing the blatant lies and betrayals of the LGBT community that have been forthcoming from Obama and Congressional Democrats.

1 comment:

Tempest Nightingale LeTrope said...

It feels to me as if Obama is kissing booty on the right to try and garner their support rather than supporting the people who voted him in. I didn't expect him to clean up the economic mess overnight, but I thought that he would end Don't Ask Don't Tell and would get us out of Afghanistan. Silly me!