Obama's support for gay marriage

Obama's support for gay marriage splits US

Barack Obama has been praised and criticised a day after he became the first sitting US president to publicly support gay marriage.

Social conservatives and religious leaders condemned his remarks.

The Obama campaign meanwhile attacked Republican Mitt Romney, who restated his opposition to same-sex marriage, as out of touch on the issue.

Late on Wednesday, the US House of Representatives voted to reinforce the federal law against gay marriage.

Gay advocates applauded Mr Obama's remarks. Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said that the president's comments would "inspire thousands more conversations around kitchen tables and in church pews".
'Deeply saddening'But Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, labelled Mr Obama's remarks "deeply saddening".

"We cannot be silent in the face of words or actions that would undermine the institution of marriage, the very cornerstone of our society," he said in a statement. "The people of this country, especially our children, deserve better."

On Thursday morning, the Obama campaign sought to capitalise on the president's political gamble by releasing an internet video titled Mitt Romney: Backwards on Equality.

It shows a clip of Mr Romney, the Republican who is expected to challenge Mr Obama for the White House in November, saying on Wednesday that he opposes gay marriage.

The video says that even former Republican President George W Bush supported civil unions, a step short of marriage.

On Wednesday evening, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives moved to reinforce the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act (Doma).

By 245-171, lawmakers voted to prevent the justice department from using taxpayer funds to actively oppose the act, which prevents gay marriages from being recognised at the federal level.

'Not Obama's prerogative'

Mr Obama ordered the department to stop actively defending Doma in February 2011.The vote's sponsor, Kansas Republican Tim Huelskamp, said it was not Mr Obama's "prerogative to decide which laws matter and which do not".

Mr Obama broke from his long-claimed indecision on the issue of gay marriage to express outright support for the right of homosexual couples to marry, in an interview on Wednesday with ABC News.

The US president acknowledged that his interview had been prompted by Vice-President Joe Biden's remarks on Sunday that he was "absolutely comfortable" with gay marriage.

He said he had planned to speak on the issue before the Democratic convention in September, and would have preferred to have "done this in my own way, on my own terms without, I think, there being a lot of notice".

In 2010, Mr Obama said his views on the issue of gay marriage were "evolving", a stance that had frustrated gay rights supporters and donors.

However, Mr Obama's newly declared stance does little to change the legal status for gay people who wish to wed in states where such marriages are outlawed. Thirty-one US states have passed constitutional amendments or legislation against same-sex marriage.

'Bible's against that'

On Tuesday, North Carolina approved a constitutional amendment - 61% in favour and 39% against - effectively banning same-sex marriage or civil unions.

Mr Obama is heading to California on Thursday for a series of fundraisers for his re-election campaign.

One fundraiser, to be held at the home of George Clooney, is expected to raise $15m (£9.3m), partially from a general raffle offering members of the public the chance to meet the Hollywood actor.

A Gallup poll on Tuesday suggested that 50% of Americans were in favour of legalising gay marriage - a slightly lower proportion than last year - while 48% said they would oppose such a move.

Mr Obama's announcement is seen as politically risky in the upcoming election, especially in the South, where one in three swing voters strongly opposes allowing gays and lesbians to wed. Mr Obama narrowly won North Carolina in the 2008 election.

BBC North America editor Mark Mardell says the Obama campaign hopes the announcement will energise younger voters.

But Mr Obama's remarks may not play so well with religious African-American voters, a key Obama voting bloc. Recent polling suggests that support for gay marriage among black church-goers remains lower than many other groups.

Pentecostal Pastor Charles Bargaineer, of the largely black New Fellowship Church of God in Florida, told the Associated Press he was troubled by the president's position.

"I don't think that's appropriate for the president," Mr Bargaineer told Reuters news agency. "The Bible's strictly against that."

When asked whether he would vote again for Mr Obama, Mr Bargaineer said: "I'll have to pray about that."

Reverend Scott Clark, a gay pastor from the San Francisco Theological Seminary, said it had been "deeply moving" to hear Mr Obama "finally acknowledge the full dignity and humanity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and our families".

:-p

And the response from Fox News?



Apparently this was so distasteful even for them that they changed the headline later....

I know, I know!!! Let's solve this democratically!!!

.....Oh wait......that never works.

This is a non-issue. Why??? This issue goes before SCOTUS later this year(early next year at the latest). There is nothing in our Constitution that prohibits gay marriage. In fact quite the opposite. Marriage itself may not be a right(it is a service provided after all), but they do have the right to seek marriage just like everyone else(the whole pursuit of happiness thing....happiness itself is not a guarantee, but you can pursue it). If they find someone willing to perform the service then nobody has the power or authority to stop it. Of course you must remember that no one has the power to force a business or church to perform the service(government cannot refuse however as long as they continue to perform the service to others).

Honest truth. The thing that I've been pondering during all of this is....rather than the GOP and News media talking about Obama's abysmal record and poor performance, we're talking about gay marriage.

Gay marriage doesnt lower the price of gas.
Gay marriage isnt putting us back to work.
Gay marriage isnt bringing our troops home.
Gay marriage isnt solving the health care dilemma.
Gay marriage isnt lower the National debt.

What Obama has done is really rather brilliant.

Dennis324 wrote:Honest truth. The thing that I've been pondering during all of this is....rather than the GOP and News media talking about Obama's abysmal record and poor performance, we're talking about gay marriage.

Gay marriage doesnt lower the price of gas.
Gay marriage isnt putting us back to work.
Gay marriage isnt bringing our troops home.
Gay marriage isnt solving the health care dilemma.
Gay marriage isnt lower the National debt.

What Obama has done is really rather brilliant.

Yep, just another ploy to keep us divided.
How many have the Democratic party given us now???
war on immigrants
war of the rich vs the poor
war on women
war on the elderly
war on blacks

This admin has to go down as the most inept and most divisive in our history. Good thing his "Cult of Personality" is wearing off. Bad thing is we will prolly get Romney.....YEAH!!!!

And the problem is...I think there are only going to be 2 debates. So Obama wont have to face tough questioning very much during this race. The plan seems to be, get through the debates, baffle em with BS and then talk about how the GOP is evil and hateful and racist and all that til November. And whatever ya do, dont talk about your record!

I mean, ya got NBC on your side already. No other mainstream media excpet Fox will even bring up Obamas record. And of course....Fox lies. Duh.

Dennis324 wrote:And the problem is...I think there are only going to be 2 debates. So Obama wont have to face tough questioning very much during this race. The plan seems to be, get through the debates, baffle em with BS and then talk about how the GOP is evil and hateful and racist and all that til November. And whatever ya do, dont talk about your record!

I mean, ya got NBC on your side already. No other mainstream media excpet Fox will even bring up Obamas record. And of course....Fox lies. Duh.

Why would Obama shy away from a debate? Obama can handle his own while Romney is terrible speaker. Heck, Obama wouldn't have to say anything, just let Willard speak the entire time and you're sure to get some near fatal gaff's out of him!

I disagree with the assertion that civil rights are a distraction. Equality under law is of greater importance than greed.

Bryant wrote:I disagree with the assertion that civil rights are a distraction. Equality under law is of greater importance than greed.

Quick, name a "civil right".

Civil rights are a fabrication. There are only rights.

They are a distraction because the process to rectify this situation is already in motion. There is a reason why the issue is never solved democratically. Let it take its course and concentrate on that. It never works in a democratic process because it is too divisive and I refuse to believe that more than 1/2 of the population is evil gay bashers. That is just too improbable. They do not however appreciate special interests (no matter how right those special interests are) making a scene and that is what most "average" people tell me about the situation when the subject comes up. As wrong as it sounds, that is just human nature. Let it take its course. Most don't even pay attention to SCOTUS.

Bryant wrote:

Dennis324 wrote:And the problem is...I think there are only going to be 2 debates. So Obama wont have to face tough questioning very much during this race. The plan seems to be, get through the debates, baffle em with BS and then talk about how the GOP is evil and hateful and racist and all that til November. And whatever ya do, dont talk about your record!

I mean, ya got NBC on your side already. No other mainstream media excpet Fox will even bring up Obamas record. And of course....Fox lies. Duh.

Why would Obama shy away from a debate? Obama can handle his own while Romney is terrible speaker. Heck, Obama wouldn't have to say anything, just let Willard speak the entire time and you're sure to get some near fatal gaff's out of him!

I dont think Obama would intentionally shy away from debates. But I also dont think he's willing to push for MORE debates because it would give Romney more opportunity to bring uyp Obama's record.

Dennis324 wrote:

Bryant wrote:

Dennis324 wrote:And the problem is...I think there are only going to be 2 debates. So Obama wont have to face tough questioning very much during this race. The plan seems to be, get through the debates, baffle em with BS and then talk about how the GOP is evil and hateful and racist and all that til November. And whatever ya do, dont talk about your record!

I mean, ya got NBC on your side already. No other mainstream media excpet Fox will even bring up Obamas record. And of course....Fox lies. Duh.

Why would Obama shy away from a debate? Obama can handle his own while Romney is terrible speaker. Heck, Obama wouldn't have to say anything, just let Willard speak the entire time and you're sure to get some near fatal gaff's out of him!

I dont think Obama would intentionally shy away from debates. But I also dont think he's willing to push for MORE debates because it would give Romney more opportunity to bring uyp Obama's record.

Besides Obama makes just as many, if not more, gaffes than the next guy. Difference is, the media protects him so nobody makes a big deal about it. Thankfully it seems the bulk of the country realizes it.

Marconius wrote:
Quick, name a "civil right".

Civil rights are a fabrication. There are only rights.

They are a distraction because the process to rectify this situation is already in motion. There is a reason why the issue is never solved democratically. Let it take its course and concentrate on that.

Saw this a few mins ago, thought of this post....

Miles1 wrote:

Marconius wrote:
Quick, name a "civil right".

Civil rights are a fabrication. There are only rights.

They are a distraction because the process to rectify this situation is already in motion. There is a reason why the issue is never solved democratically. Let it take its course and concentrate on that.

Saw this a few mins ago, thought of this post....

What exactly made you think of my post???

BTW-Even though am pro-gay marriage, there is a world of difference between what is happening now and what was happening 50somethin years ago. Gays/lesbians do not have common ground with Blacks, women, or any other special interest group.