President of Argentina: "In a Few Years This [Gay Marriage] Debate is Going to be Anachronistic"

Once again Argentine President Cristina Kirchner (pictured at right) is setting the standard for what a fierce advocate of LGBT equality (in fact, equality for eveyone) ought to be. This time she does so in an interview following the passage of same sex marriage last Thursday The irony is that Argentina, with its history of dictatorships and other social malaise which has not favored the fair treatment of all citizens, has now leap frogged far, far ahead of the United States on the issue of LGBT equality. Would that Barack Obama had half the the back bone of Ms. Kirchner on this topic. It truly is an embarrassment to see how beholden the U. S. government has become to religious extremists who in the final analysis would happily overthrow the Constitution and establish a hate and fear based theocracy. Here are highlights of an interview that Kirchner did with Pagina12 on her way back to Argentina after a state visit to China. One can only wish that Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats could have the grasp of the concept of equality that seems to be racing forward in the Southern hemisphere of the Americas (Note: the translation is via Google translate and not necessarily exact):
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"It was a triumph of society," she said. "Even I think that some of those who today are against the passage of [gay marriage] in time are going to change their minds because these things take perspective with the passage of time. If you think that 58 years ago I could not vote and now I am President, or that before there could be no interracial marriages and that the rights of people were differentiated based on the color of their skin. There are people who previously supported this who today surely would be ashamed of it.
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The intention was to cover it [opposition to gay marriage] up as a religious issue, but it is strictly social. . . . I think we should take it [homosexuality] very naturally, without dramatics, without fighting. It [same sex marriage] is the right to exercise an option for the person about his personal life.
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And if you go a little further back, the institution of marriage comes from Roman law, the great organizer of private property. Marriage, inheritance and property rights, all had to do with private property, how to succeed legitimately to title to property by legitimate and illegitimate children. And marriage laws in Rome which was a pagan society. So give it [civil marriage] a religious connotation to marriage between two people is not even a historical truth.
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Argentina has always been an advanced country in Latin America, from the strong social movements to the strong political movements, from trade unions through the institutions of the universities. It has always had a strong impact in Latin America.
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This is the crux of opponents of same sex marriage: wanting to impose a way of life. As a society we can require the other to not steal, not jay walk, but we can not require you to have the privacy with another. . . . equality before the law enshrined in the Constitution and Article 19 and judging private relationships is reserved to God alone.
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Anything recognizing rights, extending them is good for society. So I say it was a great day for society and for those who are going to have those rights. Who am I to deny someone that right of marriage? I find it inconceivable and, in some cases, hypocritical, knowing the personal life of many people [who opposed the legislation].
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I deeply believe in God but not the punishing God, the God who pursues, the God that if I do something I burn in Hell. I believe in a God who wants justice on Earth as well, which protects the weak, who cares for a minority. Jesus was characterized as a great protector of the weak and the oppressed. . . . he said he who is without sin cast the first stone. Who among those who make up the Argentine parliament can throw a stone?