Leader of Free World Endorses Same Sex Marriage

Let's praise President Obama's decision to come out and finally endorse marriage equality. It was the right and the decent thing to do and no matter what, if any the political costs, it is a moment of huge cultural significance for the United States. For other cultures, it sends a powerful message that gays and lesbians deserved to be treated fairly and equally. 


The problem politicians have been dealing with over the last several electoral cycles always centered around the issue of "civil unions" for gay couples, a growing awareness that gay couples sought stability ad legal rights for their union. But marriage has been a recent phenomenon and was actually promoted the most forcefully in the beginning by people like neo-conservative Andrew Sullivan. We saw the more conservative strain of thinking on this issue emerged with Ted Olson's advocacy against Proposition 8. Even Dick Cheney this year lobbied for gay marriage in Maryland. It has been a tough hurdle for politicians to move from the idea of civil unions to marriage.


While President Obama's discussion of it tonight seems almost like an afterthought to those who follow the issue, its impact will be large, especially among communities who resist the notion of equal rights and protections for gays and lesbians such as the African-American community.


David Frum wrote today that this put the Democrats as the party of modernity as he sees the GOP slump into the reaction of social conservatism and anti-modernity.


I've read dozens of assessments about the political impact of this statement on the election. Some lament he said it after North Carolina passed its Amendment One ,banning same sex marriage. I lament he said it after the death of Maurice Sendak,who had a relationship with a psychiatrist for fifty years, and never saw it recognized and never heard the President of the United States said that such a relationship should be honored. Some say he solidified his support among the young, who heavily favor same sex marriage. Others say he has given fuel to social conservatives and unwittingly united the conservatives behind Romney. Still other observers felt it was a mixed bag--acceptance of gay marriages has gained rapidly over just the last two years and the President avoided looking hypocritical or weak if he didn't come out in support, while the social conservatives would oppose him no matter what. 


For the immediate return, President Obama brought in $1 million in less than 90 minutes after he made the announcement. Standing in a field with an oil rig, Mitt Romney told a group of about 200 people he had always believed a marriage was for one man and a wife. (Like most things Romney says, it isn't true.) He accused the President of flip-flopping on this issue, another great laugh. But,I thought he was vicious in his statement that he was against hospital visitations by gay partners. How brutal do you want your society to be?


I am sure the lightning rod of President Obama's statement will be his justification of his change of mind on his Christian beliefs and his view about the Golden Mean. He got personal in his discussions like most people eventually do when discussing gays in citing the people who work for him who have stable family relationships and also how his daughters thought it was a no-brainer. Younger people think anyone who doesn't accept this reality is a dinosaur. But I am sure we will see the endless preachifying on this for the next week. We will also see Willard appear at Jerry Falwell's college for the commencement address, a certain venue for his pronouncements on family values.


Dan Savage was less than joyous about the President's statement because President Obama still said that the issue should be decided at the state level. But those who support the President's approach said that he has indicated that such state actions have to be limited by federal authority. What is being set up by supporters of marriage equality is the Supreme Court case--another reason to vote for the President. President Obama's approach also runs counter to Romney's goal of federalizing the definition of marriage through a constitutional amendment. We saw the Administration reject defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) this year and we should expect this issue to play out over the next few years. So I am not impressed by Dan Savage's critique. 


The criticism of the Log Cabin Republicans was bizarre. On this issue they praise Dick Cheney and felt that President Obama had been cowardly in not supporting equal marriage prior to the North Carolina vote. However, they back Mitt Romney who was all for the Amendment 1 vote.


PPP has found that a majority of people who already oppose President Obama always believed he supported equal marriage rights. So it certainly didn't surprise them. What surprised Washington pundits was that he didn't wait until after the election so as not to risk negative electoral consequences. Clearly Joe Biden was the trial balloon and that just created pressure on the White House to endorse the idea sooner rather than later. But when is it the right time to do the right thing?


President Obama already has the most progressive record concerning gays and lesbians in our history. While holding back would be somewhat disappointing to the gay and lesbian community, it would be understandable and wouldn't lead to any negative consequences in light of his strong record of achievement.


But President Obama did us the service as a country to lay bare the reality that when we are discussing these issues we are discussing the lives of real people and real people who inhabit every rung of society and work in every political administration. And it is long past time to recognize this fact and live with it. Contrast this administration's attitude to the homophobia generated during the AIDS epidemic in the Reagan years. 


If it helps those of us who are not gay to be more empathetic and sensitive to these issues, the President has done an enormous service for us all. Today gave us one example of what real political leadership is.


Now if Joe Biden would say,"Weed is awesome."