Obama (finally) endorses same sex marriage

[njlauren]

So Obama after all his waffling finally came out in favor of same sex marriage. Do you think it was a brave move or do you think it was political opportunism? Do you think he calculated it would gain him more then it would lose him, or do you think he did it as a moral stand?

Personally I think it was political, I think he realized that those who would be upset about this wouldn't vote for him anyway and it might get some progressives and independents to get out and vote, where every vote counts. I think those criticizing Obama for waiting until now to do this and pinning what happened in North Carolina on him is idiotic; the GOP is using same sex marriage and abortion to fire up the knuckle draggers from the south into voting for Romney, a 'wedge issue' and this is what happens. The irony is some conservatives recognize the issue for what it is (which Obama, who taught constitutional law, should have realized a long time ago), that it is a constitutional issue, that the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment makes same sex marriage bans illegal, you cannot arbitrarily grant a right to one group and not give it to another (Ted Olsen, once Bush's solicitor general, is actively fighting for same sex marriage on this exact grounds). It also IMO should be argued on the 1st amendment, since giving heed to the religious view that marriage is between a man and a woman as law is tacitly endorsing one religious view over another (since many churches and synagogues and almost all pagans have said same sex marriage is consistent with their faith).

Don't get me wrong, I am glad he did it, but I don't think he did it because of it being morally right either.

 

[Kurokami]

I dunno, my response to this is the same as when any politician comes out in favor of gay marriage: frustration. Because we desperately need Obama's imprimatur to choose who we really want to marry.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great step, but I'm just so tired of having this happen, like their opinions are permission from on high for this basic right. Obama's all like "Hey, gay marriage is A-okay with me!" And I can only muster the energy to respond with a sarcastic "Yeah, okay. Thanks."

 

[klippert]

I'm tossing some hard wood on this fire. I think you should listen to his (I need election money speech) Don't watch him on Youz Toobe. Listen to him, He NEVER endorses Gay marriage. I know some people are still enamored with The One.

Barry is a classic Harvard Trained Word Savant, with superb word masters. How did 'foot in mouth' Biden put it; I'm Comfortable with it'....

Several of Obamas' election fund bundlers are heads for 'gay' activist groups. Barry is expected too pull down (no pun) a Kool Million buck'aroos, since his composite answer

Devils advocate here, Ba'rocka Obama is for gay marriage, their is no doubt... but he's shown he'll give up poor Black folk for rich gay folk, votes and money.

Ill close with this... I've never been opposed to anyone getting hitched....good for you.... Someone jumping the shark and going too activist courts and forcing me too accept ones life style.....NO, I will not accept that dictate.

The second amendment allows me to keep and bare arms. I'm told by a court and activist that; It is against the law for a legal citizen too carry a concealed firearm in New York city or the communist state of Ill. BUT, that same court and activist tell me I 'HAVE' too accept ones lifestyle choice... disconnect.....maybe, agenda...fugg yes

 

[RjThoughts]

I'm tossing some hard wood on this fire. I think you should listen to his (I need election money speech) Don't watch him on Youz Toobe. Listen to him, He NEVER endorses Gay marriage. I know some people are still enamored with The One.

Barry is a classic Harvard Trained Word Savant, with superb word masters. How did 'foot in mouth' Biden put it; I'm Comfortable with it'....

Several of Obamas' election fund bundlers are heads for 'gay' activist groups. Barry is expected too pull down (no pun) a Kool Million buck'aroos, since his composite answer

Devils advocate here, Ba'rocka Obama is for gay marriage, their is no doubt... but he's shown he'll give up poor Black folk for rich gay folk, votes and money.

Ill close with this... I've never been opposed to anyone getting hitched....good for you.... Someone jumping the shark and going too activist courts and forcing me too accept ones life style.....NO, I will not accept that dictate.

The second amendment allows me to keep and bare arms. I'm told by a court and activist that; It is against the law for a legal citizen too carry a concealed firearm in New York city or the communist state of Ill. BUT, that same court and activist tell me I 'HAVE' too accept ones lifestyle choice... disconnect.....maybe, agenda...fugg yes

Umm, Mittens graduated from Harvard, too, payed for his his daddy, you know, the one that grew up in a Mexican Mormon polyogomist commune.

 

[janeyruth]

Umm, Mittens graduated from Harvard, too, payed for his his daddy, you know, the one that grew up in a Mexican Mormon polyogomist commune.

No, he didn't. Stop making up stories. And you can't even spell polygamist, petunia...

 

[RjThoughts]

No, he didn't. Stop making up stories. And you can't even spell polygamist, petunia...

So where did he receive his juris doctorate and master of business administration diplomas? Everywhere I've read says Harvard, the bastion of liberal thinking and radical indoctrination.

 

[TexasWife25]

So where did he receive his juris doctorate and master of business administration diplomas? Everywhere I've read says Harvard, the bastion of liberal thinking and radical indoctrination.

I believe his father didn't pay for it, he sold stocks he owned to pay for it.

 

[RjThoughts]

I believe his father didn't pay for it, he sold stocks he owned to pay for it.

And where did he receive those stocks? I know he donated his father's inheritance to the church of LDS.

 

[RjThoughts]

Good reading as to what Romney should do:
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/05/top-gop-pollster-to-gop-reverse-on-gay-issues.html

And thought this funny, from a daily writing contest:
NEW PROMPT: Write a story or poem about a nonhuman animal running for human political office.

 

[njlauren]

"Ill close with this... I've never been opposed to anyone getting hitched....good for you.... Someone jumping the shark and going too activist courts and forcing me too accept ones life style.....NO, I will not accept that dictate. "

There is a fundamental inconsistency here, if you are not opposed to anyone getting hitched, then how is an 'activist court' that rules that same sex marriage rights are 'forcing you to accept ones lifestyle'? What you are really saying is "it is okay for anyone getting hitched (as long as it is a man and a woman), that that is being opposed to gays getting hitched. More importantly, you can believe same sex couples are wrong, you can believe being gay is a sin, but why should your belief affect what other people can do? Does that mean that the whites who thought the races shouldn't mix were right in legally denying interracial couples the right to marry? What you are saying is that your beliefs are worth more then others, that you have the right to deny government benefits based on your beliefs, and that is why we have a constitution and courts in the first place, because you don't have their right. Evangelical Christians better be thankful we have those protections, because there are plenty of people who would want to deny them the right to vote, there are a lot of people in this country who would deny Romney or the mormons the right to hold office if they could.

Sorry, but you are more guilty then those activist courts, you are saying "I don't like something, so therefore the law should reflect my beliefs, and if the law says that is wrong, they are 'forcing their beliefs' on me.

Actually what the issue of same sex marriage comes down to is fundamentally the homophobes and haters in this society making a last ditch effort to try and keep 'gays in their place'. I constantly hear that same sex marriage or anti discrimination laws against gays is 'the government endorsing sin', but what they fear is exactly what has happened in states that have enacted same sex marriage. In all the states that have legalized same sex marriage, strong majorities now yawn and say "what was the fuss about"? GOP rock heads in New Hampshire tried and were thrown back; in Mass 70% of the people support same sex marriage when less then half did before the courts did and so forth. The evangelicals in Iowa just voted out the judges who ruled the right to same sex marriage, but that is also triggering a backlash agains the religious right and could cost them economically (there is already talk of trying to get farm subsididies slashed, especially the idiotic subsidies for corn Iowa farmers live off of, especially the ethanol fraud).

At the time the Supreme Court issued the Loving decision, banning interracial marriage, something like 70% of Americans said it was good law. within a couple of years of it being passed, it was 80% in favor of interracial marriage rights, and that is what the ignorant and haters fear, it will be one less group that it is okay for them to push around or hate openly. Many of the same people were (probably still are) racially biased but these days it is socially unacceptable to be so; they are afraid that their beliefs will be marginalized and for many of them, losing another group they can look down on to make themselves feel better.

Thing is, same sex marriage is going to happen, and probably within the next generation it will end up being decided as a rights issue by the Supreme Court (could happen today if Anthony Kennedy decides it is a rights issue, as he did with the decision to overturn state sodomy laws). One thing is that younger generations don't care, once the older people have passed on, it is likely this will be a non issue. Even conservatives have come around on this, when people like Bob Barr and Ted Olsen are fighting to overturn bans on same sex marriage as a right, it says something. The GOP still has, despite the religious right and the know nothings, a strong libertarian wing, and they realize that promoting religious belief or bias as law is anti their traditions.