For a man who taught constitutional law, Barack Obama seems to be utterly ignorant of some important provisions of the U. S. Constitution. You know, things like the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of (and from) religion and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteeth Amendment. Inconvenient provisions that trump state laws and make Obama's blather about leaving marriage up to the states little more than disingenuous bullshit. Or at least, that's the only explanation I can find for the White House's lame statement in the wake of passage of marriage equality in New York State. The fact that some 1,000+ state and federal legal rights hinge on the work "marriage" seems to be beyond the grasp of the "Follower in Chief." If Obama is a "fierce advocate," I'd hate to see a luke warm ally. Indeed, the only time Obama gets fierce on LGBT issues is when it comes to asking for our money. Would he have wanted the states to "determine the best approach" for equal treatment of African-American citizens. I suspect not and the fact that he is fine with a totally different standard for LGBT Americans speaks volumes - and none of it good. Here's coverage from the Washington Blade and Obama's mealy mouth statement:*
A White House spokesperson late Friday reiterated President Obama’s belief that the marriage issue should be left to the states in response to the passage of same-sex marriage legislation in New York.
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Shin Inouye, a White House spokesperson, said the president believes gay couples should receive “the same rights and legal protections” as opposite-sex couples, but wants states to determine the best approach to offer these protections.
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“The president has long believed that gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and legal protections as straight couples,” Inouye said. “That’s why he has called for repeal of the so-called ‘Defense of Marriage Act’ and determined that his administration would no longer defend the constitutionality of DOMA in the courts. The states should determine for themselves how best to uphold the rights of their own citizens. The process in New York worked just as it should.”
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Under Obama's approach, LGBT Virginians (indeed, most LGBT citizens in the Deep South) will be f*cked for many, many years and in order to have even remotely full rights of U.S. citizenship will have to move to New York or some other progressive state. Yet even then, until DOMA is repealed, we still don't receive equal rights. Again, would Obama settle for this result if African-American were substituted for LGBT? I think not. He's simpering spinelessness needs to end.
2 comments:
In all fairness - and yes, I am aware of the fact that this man could probably put an end to decades of discrimination and bigotry with the stroke of pen - there are activists and bloggers, many of whom claim to be lawyers, who also seem to have a careless disregard for the rule of law, too.
If they're turning a blind eye to bigotry and discrimination, then I don't know how anyone can accuse POTUS of being ignorant.
He's always been Mr Present, not Mr President. He is no leader.
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