America’s history has been one of slow evolution toward reform and change, and toward the expansion of human rights!
Today, May 9, 2012, is one of those moments that will reverberate as a memorable day in our history, as President Barack Obama has finally declared his full support for gay marriage, after having promoted action to promote gay rights in other ways earlier, including the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the military.
To gay and lesbian Americans, and those who believe in gay and lesbian human rights, it was a long time coming, but that fact will now be forgotten in the excitement that our President has taken a very moral stand on gay rights, that despite many religious objections, means that over time, the institution of same sex marriage will spread far and wide as a civil right that all other people have, and that gay Americans are entitled to have.
Barack Obama will be long remembered for this great initiative, and Joe Biden will be long praised for having prodded the President to move in the final direction of full acceptance of what he was arriving at in an evolutionary fashion.
The hate mongers, common among Republicans and conservatives, will fight tooth and nail, as they did in the case of Amendment One in North Carolina, to deny equality, even to those military people on bases in the state, a despicable action.
But eventually, there will be a move to have the US Supreme Court decide whether it is not a national right, that cannot be denied by the states, but also mandate that no church, synagogue or other religious institution, would be required to marry people they did not want to be involved in marrying. That would be left up to ministers and rabbis comfortable with the idea, or to the act of civil marriage.
If the Supreme Court could declare in Loving V. Virginia in 1967, that interracial marriages were constitutional, they can certainly do the same for same sex marriage!
To insure such a result, however, it is MORE urgent than ever before that Barack Obama win a second term in the White House, and be able to insure that the Supreme Court does not become more conservative than it already is, and continue to prevent progress and change!
Hello Professor,
I cannot say how strongly I agree and echo your sediments in this posting. So much depends on this next election for any progressive forward movement.
I am in agrement as well. I believe if the Democrats and others who recognize the danger of the radical right, don’t rise up like a tsunami and vote these insane republicans out of office and keep them out for a decade or so our country is in deep trouble.