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President Obama, too preoccupied for Prop 8 today? (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Since I posted responses to the Prop 8 news from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and from ACLU LGBT Project Director Matt Coles, it seems fitting to also post the response from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on behalf of President Barack Obama.
Umm... Fail?
Obama admittedly had a big day and a full plate today, what with his announcement of Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee for the Supreme Court of the United States and all, but still.
Have a look at the following exchange from today's White House presser:
Compare and contrast with this rainbow-colored Obama Pride logo version, circa 2006:
Where have you gone, rainbow-colored-logo-Obama of yesteryear?
While Obama has never been the voice the LGBT community had hoped for on the marriage equality issue in particular, a complete non-statement on the Prop 8 ruling today as protests unfold across the country is infuriating to many of the people who worked hard to get him elected, partly on the strength of those promises.
Here's a more powerful Obama answer about "real equality," circa February 2008, that many in the LGBT community would like to see him follow up on. Perhaps we'll hear from him tomorrow?
Open Letter from Barack Obama to the LGBT community (via pride.barackobama.com)
I'm running for President to build an America that lives up to our founding promise of equality for all - a promise that extends to our gay brothers and sisters. It's wrong to have millions of Americans living as second-class citizens in this nation. And I ask for your support in this election so that together we can bring about real change for all LGBT Americans.
Equality is a moral imperative. That's why throughout my career, I have fought to eliminate discrimination against LGBT Americans. In Illinois, I co-sponsored a fully inclusive bill that prohibited discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, extending protection to the workplace, housing, and places of public accommodation. In the U.S. Senate, I have co-sponsored bills that would equalize tax treatment for same-sex couples and provide benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. And as president, I will place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples - whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage. Unlike Senator Clinton, I support the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) - a position I have held since before arriving in the U.S. Senate. While some say we should repeal only part of the law, I believe we should get rid of that statute altogether. Federal law should not discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples, which is precisely what DOMA does. I have also called for us to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and I have worked to improve the Uniting American Families Act so we can afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples in our immigration system.
The next president must also address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. When it comes to prevention, we do not have to choose between values and science. While abstinence education should be part of any strategy, we also need to use common sense. We should have age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception. We should pass the JUSTICE Act to combat infection within our prison population. And we should lift the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. In addition, local governments can protect public health by distributing contraceptives.
We also need a president who's willing to confront the stigma - too often tied to homophobia - that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. I confronted this stigma directly in a speech to evangelicals at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church, and will continue to speak out as president. That is where I stand on the major issues of the day. But having the right positions on the issues is only half the battle. The other half is to win broad support for those positions. And winning broad support will require stepping outside our comfort zone. If we want to repeal DOMA, repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and implement fully inclusive laws outlawing hate crimes and discrimination in the workplace, we need to bring the message of LGBT equality to skeptical audiences as well as friendly ones - and that's what I've done throughout my career. I brought this message of inclusiveness to all of America in my keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention. I talked about the need to fight homophobia when I announced my candidacy for President, and I have been talking about LGBT equality to a number of groups during this campaign - from local LGBT activists to rural farmers to parishioners at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Dr. Martin Luther King once preached.
Just as important, I have been listening to what all Americans have to say. I will never compromise on my commitment to equal rights for all LGBT Americans. But neither will I close my ears to the voices of those who still need to be convinced. That is the work we must do to move forward together. It is difficult. It is challenging. And it is necessary.
Americans are yearning for leadership that can empower us to reach for what we know is possible. I believe that we can achieve the goal of full equality for the millions of LGBT people in this country. To do that, we need leadership that can appeal to the best parts of the human spirit. Join with me, and I will provide that leadership. Together, we will achieve real equality for all Americans, gay and straight alike.
Don't miss all of Sarah Estrella's reporting on Marriage Equality and Sexy Politics, and follow @sexaminer on Twitter for the latest updates.
For more on Prop 8 from other viewpoints, check out our Prop 8 special topic page and recent first-person coverage from California by...
Comments
I am glad to see that prop.8 was upheld. It's amazing to see how gays say others are not tolerent until things don't go their way. Give it up, the people voted twice. Check out the Bible in the book of Romans.
God Bless,
Teacher
With all due respect, Teacher, this isn't about tolerance. It's about equality. Unfortunately, even in this great country of ours, sometimes you have to fight for equality. Look it up: It's in all the textbooks.
Well put, Emily!
If trying to put a strong God inspired "word from God" behind your homophobia I wouldn't suggest the book of Bible God / Jesus (supposedly) named after the people who killed him(Romans). As if the unlikelyhood of its authenticity wasn't already clear-maybe you should know homosexuality was a common and accepted part of Roman society. Point; Bible=inconsistencies with beautiful confusions
Romans=Gay!
Teacher:
Maybe you should go back to school
There's nothing to fear but fear itself. I think you wouldn't be so smug if the shoes were reversed. Suppose Prop 8 failed, then the Yes on 8 side lost their fight today after going to the CSSC. Can you honestly tell us that you would've "gotten over it" if that happened? I doubt it.
How about check the Bible for the quote "whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me"? We'll give it up when everyone is treated the same a
Hey "Teacher", if the people were given a vote about civil rights in the sixties blacks would still be riding in the back of the bus.
Hey "teacher", stop referring to the bible as if it were the constitution. We are not living in a theocracy. Not everyone believes like you do. If they did unmarried nonvirgins would be stoned in the streets. The bible endorses this practice. Look it up. Oh that's right you've probably never read the bible it's just your excuse to judge others.
I think this is a generational shift we're seeing. Younger people – even deeply religious younger people and young people who are otherwise right-leaning politically – don't really see this as the wedge issue older folks do. We're in the middle of it, so it's still bumpy, but eventually will come through it and will have marriage equality in California and throughout the U.S. Some of us will be able to look back on it and have a laugh that it was ever such an issue for the generation before us.
I don't know about some of you, but I'm a heterosexual woman and have also had openly gay friends, family members, celebrities I look up to, authors/musicians/artists I love, TV personalities like Ellen Degeneres I follow daily, etc. for as long as I can remember. I believe this particular issue will eventually be a non-issue, but Emily, the commenter below is right: Sometimes you have to fight for these things to get there.
Thanks for the thoughtful discussion and debate, folks! I deleted a few belligerently racist and hateful comments from both sides of this issue that came in over the night and apologize if any of you on either side of the issue had to endure those before I got to them this morning. Let's try to keep it civil!
It's sad to see the leader of our nation not have anything to say about something that happened in his nation.
To teacher and the like: If you want a theocracy, then I suggest you form your own country that is based on the Bible and not a nation based on philosophical ideals as the United States is based on. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights actually contradict the Bible in many places, and no single religion could flourish as national religion in such a set up.
"The people voted twi
"The people voted twice." Not ALL people. Not everyone's voice was heard - just the majority of those who voted.
Be careful when you quote St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, for it says in Chapter 2:
"Wherefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. For wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself. For thou dost the same things which thou judgest."
When I see all of you outside a divorce court protesting divorce and demanding the couple seeking a divorce to uphold the sanctity of marriage, then I will listen to anything you have to say. Until then, go to the mirror and check out that big plank in your eye. You may want to get it removed.
Yeah, I've been waiting for Obama and/or the White House to comment on Prop. 8. If it were a black issue, I bet he would be all over it and have a response. He has completely failed our community and it would be nice for the media to cover this "silence" that we are getting from him and the White House. He's turned out to be a total joke. He still has yet to talk about "Don't ask, don't tell!"
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