Monday, January 24, 2011

What Will Obama Have for Gays in His SOTU Message?

They is always speculation of what a president will say in the State of the Union speech each year. Obviously jobs and the economy will be topics as will the ongoing fiasco in Afghanistan and Iraq where unfortunately Obama has continued Chimperator Bush's failed policies and listened to generals who will always claim progress no matter what objective reality says otherwise. And for LGBT Americans, what will Obama have to say to us. Will we get more mealy mouthed talk about supporting our equality even as he has his justice department continue appeals in cases that would overturn pro-equality district court rulings? Reportedly, Daniel Hernandez, the gay intern who is credited with helping save Rep. Giffords' life after the Tucson mass shooting, will be seated with First Lady Michelle Obama at Tuesday's State of the Union address - but is that the sole crumb to be thrown to our community? Dan Savage has an op-ed piece in yesterday's New York Times that calls on Obama to get on board the push for gay marriage. Will Obama do it? My guess is no because it would involve leadership and by now we know too well that Obama is a follower and not a leader. Here are highlights from Dan's column:
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I’m not an idiot: Now that the Republicans hold the House, only wishful thinkers and the deeply delusional expect to see any movement on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender legislative agenda this year or next. Nevertheless, President Obama should address gay rights in his State of the Union speech this week, and he should tackle the biggest, most meaningful right of them all: the right to marry.
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The president — perhaps after introducing Daniel Hernandez Jr., the openly gay intern credited with saving Representative Gabrielle Giffords’s life — should declare that the trend is clear: this country increasingly believes that Mr. Hernandez and other lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans should have all the same rights and responsibilities as other citizens.
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Gay Americans are eventually going to win on marriage just like we won on military service, the president should tell Congress, so why not save everyone on both sides of the debate a lot of time, trouble and money by approving the entire gay rights agenda? Send the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the Student Non-Discrimination Act, the Uniting American Families Act and the repeal of the odious Defense of Marriage Act to his desk for his signature.
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Social conservatives long to raise their children in a country where they don’t have to hear about homosexuality every time they turn on the news. I’d like raise my son in a country like that too. And guess what? In countries like Canada — where the fight over gay rights is essentially over, where there is gay marriage, open military service and employment protections — homosexuality hardly ever makes the front pages of newspapers. There’s nothing much to report.
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Conservatives can’t get rid of us, but they can hear less from and about us. They just have to bend toward justice.

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