Gay Marriage

NAACP Endorsement Of Gay Rights And Gay Marriage As Another Civil Rights Struggle: Major Victory!

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The leading, and most reputable, Civil Rights organization in America, the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People (NAACP), has just endorsed gay rights and gay marriage as equivalent of another civil right, as much as the African American struggle for equality in the 1950s and 1960s.

This is a major victory for gay rights and gay marriage, and will help bring over many African Americans, who because of religious beliefs, have opposed such developments in California, North Carolina, and elsewhere, helping to cause defeats of referendums on the issue of gay marriage.

There were already signs of a beginning of a new attitude among blacks on the topic, and this will only help the progression toward something that will become more and more the norm over time, and in 40 years, we will look back with amazement at the opposition, just as was so with interracial marriage in the 1960s.

The “equal protection” clause of the 14th Amendment was utilized by the NAACP to justify their stand for gay marriage as a civil right.

This is the way that could be utilized in the future by the Supreme Court, and if a case came up in the short term, such as the California case pursued by Ted Olson and David Boies, the Court COULD rule in favor by a vote of 5-4,. assuming that Justice Anthony Kennedy, who made the majority in 2003 for gay privacy rights in Lawrence V. Texas, were to vote the same way.

One could say that Anthony Kennedy’s vote in 2003 had a great effect in spurring the rapid development of the gay rights movement in the intervening nine years from then to now!

So a Supreme Court endorsement of gay marriage could be in the offing sooner, rather than later!

Barack Obama And Gay Marriage: Politics Or Principle?

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The American public seems to be very skeptical of the motivations of President Barack Obama, when he declared support of gay marriage a week ago.

A new public opinion poll indicates that 67 percent of those polled think the declaration was based on politics, compared to 24 percent who think it was based on principle.

There is no question that the declaration of support for gay marriage has created a new dynamic, which could affect the fall election for President.

Not only devoutly religious Catholics and evangelical Christians are vehemently against what Obama has declared, but also the African American community is split, as many blacks who are devoutly religious join white religious voters in opposition.

Also, older voters over 50, and many Hispanics and Latinos who are religious, are also not happy over what Obama has declared.

At the same time, younger voters under 35, single women under 50, college educated voters, a majority in the larger urban states (such as California, New York and Illinois), and obviously, gay voters, are supportive.

The danger to Obama is that his opportunity to win the Southern states he won in 2008 (Virginia, North Carolina, Florida) is now more in play, at least in theory. Also believed to be in play are Indiana and Nevada and Colorado, other “swing” states that Obama won in 2008.

At the same time, Ohio and Iowa are thought to be still in Obama’s camp, due to the economic improvement in those states, along with other Midwestern states, including Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. Pennsylvania still seems safe for Obama, while New Hampshire might be in play.

Let us assume all of the above as stated is fact. How would that affect the electoral map?

Obama starts out with what seems to be 227 electoral votes that are certain, including:

Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, California, Hawaii–18 states and DC.

If one adds Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Iowa, it adds 44 electoral votes, making for a total of 271 electoral votes, one more than needed to win the Presidency! That would mean 21 states and DC went for the President.

Now, let’s be frank! Can one really conceive that Obama will lose all of the following: Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, New Hampshire, Indiana, Colorado, Nevada–a total of 87 electoral votes?

And beyond all this, remember the factor of LIKEABILITY! Romney is not well liked, and people do not feel that he is someone to trust to be out there for average Americans, that he does not and cannot understand the daily struggle of a majority of Americans who are not rich, and never will be rich!

Barack Obama has 60 percent of the nation liking him, as compared to Romney’s 31 percent.

Barack Obama is overwhelmingly favored by Hispanics and Latinos, single women, a majority of those under 35, organized labor, environmentalists, the college educated, and African Americans.

And now the Americans Elect group, which hoped to get a centrist, independent candidate on the ballot online, has come to the realization that there is no one strong or well known enough to be considered as its candidate, and the organization has folded.

So Barack Obama still has a massive edge, even with the issue of gay marriage possibly muddying the waters somewhat!

Interesting Development: Republican Leadership Evading Gay Marriage Issue, Angering Evangelical Conservatives!

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A very interesting development is the mild manner that the Republican leadership, from Mitt Romney down to members of Congress and even Fox News Channel, is reacting to Barack Obama’s gay marriage support this past week.

Romney, and just about everyone else, is saying they will not focus on social issues such as gay marriage during the campaign, instead focusing on economic issues.

This is shocking and angering social conservatives, evangelical Christians mostly, who insist that gay marriage should be the cornerstone of the GOP campaign for Congress and the Presidency this year.

Tony Perkins, of the evangelical Family Research Council, and Gary Bauer, of the American Values organization, disagreed strongly with the argument that the gay marriage issue is a distraction.

One has to wonder what will happen IF the Republicans continue to push the gay marriage issue to the sidelines.

Is there a chance of a third party movement promoting the social agenda, if the GOP does not do so? Could it affect Mitt Romney’s Presidential campaign?

Stay tuned!

African Americans, Gay Rights, And Barack Obama: Will They Spite Themselves And Promote Denial Of Human Rights?

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The African American community is divided over the declaration of President Barack Obama favoring gay marriage, and his general backing for gay rights.

A large percentage, often thought to be a majority of the African American community, is theologically conservative, and detests the concept of gay marriage.

They helped to contribute to the defeat of Proposition 8 in California a few years ago, and to the success of the amendment to the state constitution of North Carolina banning same sex marriages, civil unions and any other recognition of same sex relationships.

This is the case despite the historical reality that many Christian groups remained silent for decades over the lynchings of African Americans in the South, and the denial of interracial marriages, and the fact that the Mormon Church, so active in California in mobilizing opposition to gay marriage, did not allow African Americans to become Mormons until an epiphany in 1978 led the Mormons to change their theology!

So the question arises whether the black community will, in large numbers, abandon Barack Obama in November.

The idea that large numbers will vote Republican for Mitt Romney is highly unlikely, but if they stay home and do not vote for President, the African American community could affect the result in some states in a close race.

The point is that if they do just that, stay home, and if Obama and the Democrats lose, who will be the ultimate “victims” of a Romney victory? The answer is that the African American community will spite themselves, in the name of a religion which stood by in large numbers for a long time as they were themselves denied equal rights, only seeing change after many decades of discrimination, as many churches and sects started to change their views, and finally back civil rights for blacks.

So it would be counterproductive for blacks to forget their own struggle for civil rights, and let religion betray their better judgment about human rights!

Equality, Dignity, Hope, Acceptance: The Effect Of Barack Obama On Gay Americans!

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What Barack Obama did on Wednesday, May 9, will reverberate in history as much as when Lyndon B. Johnson called for passage of civil rights laws, and the Supreme Court declared interracial marriage constitutional, in the 1960s.

Just as for African Americans back then, today gay Americans and those who love and support them, see equality, dignity, hope and acceptance, part of what every human being desires as part of being human!

Yes, there were critics then, and even today, of civil rights laws for African Americans and interracial marriage, as there are, today, critics of gay rights and gay marriage.

But in the long run, these critics, past and present, will be part of the “dustbin of history”, who are, and will be, condemned and deplored, and future generations will wonder how we could call ourselves a democracy, and deny equality, dignity, hope, and acceptance to ANY minority!

Just as it did not matter whether all people accepted civil rights and interracial marriage in the 1960s, it does not matter whether they accept gay rights and gay marriage today.

It is not a question of whether something is popular, as no one should have the power to deny equality to anyone else!

This is not something where ordinary people, many of them ignorant and prejudiced, should be voting on other people’s rights.

This is where the Supreme Court should, as with Loving V. Virginia in 1967 mandating Interracial marriage as constitutional, declare gay marriage constitutional, and make it clear that it must be accepted in all states and territories of the United States, no matter what anyone’s personal feelings are regarding the matter!

Organized Religion, Parenthood, and Gay Rights: Time To Do What A Jew Named Jesus Would Advocate!

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Today is Mother’s Day, and in five weeks, it is Father’s Day.

Today also is the first Sunday since President Barack Obama declared support of gay marriage, part of his continuing agenda to promote legal rights and human rights for people who are lesbian, gay, bi sexual and transgender.

And what do we already see occurring?

We see hate, discrimination, prejudice, bias, anger, fury and narrow mindedness emanating from many Catholic Mormon, and evangelical Christian pulpits as priests, pastors, and ministers declare “war” on gay Americans, and use the Bible to back up their campaign, rather than demonstrate humanity, open mindedness, understanding, tolerance, and acceptance of people who are different than they are.

Instead of promoting compassion and acceptance, we see the issue of gay rights being used as a political football by the haters, and this sadly includes many moms and dads who will refuse to accept their children who are gay, will throw them out of the house, will banish them from family gatherings, will declare them “dead” rather than understand that they have feelings and desires to love someone of the same sex, and wish to be understood and accepted for who they are.

The question anyone with an open mind has is how can men and women reject their own children, provoking depression and suicide in many cases?

And how can those who claim to be spokesmen for God advocate hate and violence against people who would certainly find it easier to deny their own sexuality if they could, but face constant repudiation by religious leaders who are true hypocrites that set out to divide people and deny that these people’s loves are based on their natural, innate selves?

The sad reality is that ANY clergyman or parent who rejects people of GLBT orientation is promoting the kind of hate which makes a mockery of parenthood and of organized religion!

These are not “good Christians” or any other faith, and should be denounced for what they are, peddlers of hypocrisy, who should be called to account and rejected by all decent people!

Just a reminder: Jesus, who these haters say they follow, was a Jew, and his people, the Jews, have faced prejudice and hate from Christian groups throughout history by those who profess to believe in Jesus. Time to stop the phoniness of what these people preach and follow the true, compassionate views of Jesus, which includes acceptance of LGBT orientation!

Did Barack Obama Go Far Enough On Gay Marriage? Ted Olson Does Not Think So!

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In the midst of all the celebration and joy over President Barack Obama’s strong endorsement of the right of gay men and women to marry, he included in his statement on the issue that the matter should be dealt with on the state level, state by state.

But Ted Olson, former Solicitor General under President George W. Bush, disagrees.

He and David Boies, the two lawyers involved in the Bush V. Gore election controversy in 2000, are fighting to bring the denial of gay marriage in California, after it was first allowed, to the Supreme Court, with the idea that the Court can determine the constiitutionality of gay marriage, much as they did with interracial marriage in 1967, with the Loving V. Virginia case.

Yes, it is true that 31 states have banned gay marriage in votes of the people of those states, but why should a basic human right, the right to marry, be subjected to a vote of the people?

If this was done about interracial marriage, even today, a majority in many states would ban such a relationship, but it is not the right of anyone to tell others that they cannot have happiness, and this is the point of conservative Ted Olson and liberal David Boies!

There should be a national standard on marriage, and it should be legal and consistent everywhere in the country.

A Supreme Court decision could mandate this and end the issue for good!

And it is certain that such a decision would not prevent churches and synagogues from deciding not to marry gay people, since civil marriage is all that would be covered by such a decision.

Hopefully, sometime soon, the issue of gay marriage by civil method will be resolved in the law in favor of human rights!

North Carolina’s Public Image Harmed By Vote Banning Gay Marriage In State Constitution

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North Carolina was part of the Confederate South during the Civil War.

North Carolina was part of the segregated South for a century, but the lunch counter sit ins at Greensboro in 1960 were one of the first events to draw attention to the issue of civil rights for African Americans in the South.

North Carolina started to prosper, passing its neighbor, South Carolina, in social and economic progress in recent decades, and in population as well, and gained a good reputation as a progressive state.

North Carolina has a black mayor of Charlotte, which will be the host for the Democratic National Convention this summer, and that city is the center of major banking and finance.

North Carolina is the center of high technology and excellent universities, with Durham and Duke University, Raleigh and University of North Carolina, and Chapel Hill with North Carolina State University.

Areas including Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill were strongly against the Amendment One, but the religious right, led by Billy Graham and Franklin Graham won out over the appeals of the educated ,and even of former President Bill Clinton.

So North Carolina has suffered, and will suffer in public image, and it will take a long time before North Carolina can regain the stature it had worked so hard to achieve in the past 30 years.

And to top it off, unmarried heterosexual couples will no longer be protected in their rights, either, whether civil unions or domestic partnerships. This is a heavy price to pay for ignorance, prejudice, and narrow mindedness, and provoked by organized religion, which should unite citizens, not divide them!

Gay Marriage And The Split Of Age Groups: The Future Is Bright!

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An interesting statistic about gay marriage and different age groups presents itself, based on research, and is a sign that gay marriage will have a rosy future over time.

If one polls people who are senior citizens, over 65, one finds that gay marriage is opposed in every state of the Union.

But when one looks at voters under the age of 30, only 12 states would ban gay marriage!

So as time passes, and the older generation leaves us, gay marriage will become much more accepted, and one day, about 30 years from now, many will wonder what the big commotion was about, and there will be embarrassment that there was such a fight over human rights!

But then, it is embarrassing to look back at the 1950s and 1960s, and the incessant struggle over civil rights for African Americans in the South!

Interestingly, it is in the South that we have the most vehement opposition to gay marriage and gay rights, so what does that tell us?

As time passes, nothing changes in much of the “Old South”, the rural South, whether it is Democratic, as it was in the past, or Republican today!

The “New South” Of Bill Clinton And Jimmy Carter Clashes With The “Old South” Of Billy Graham And Franklin Graham

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The American South, referring to the states of the Civil War which broke away from the Union, have been said to have changed in the years since the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965.

With African Americans given the right to vote, and civil rights being enforced by the federal government, we saw a switch of many white Democrats, who believed in segregation of the races, to the Republican Party, including a vast majority of state and national officeholders.

Those who remained Democrats were seen as “moderates” who wished to bridge the gap between the races, and keep the heritage of equal rights and social justice connected, and therefore, we saw the triumph of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton winning the Presidency, reflecting a “changed” South.

But while Carter and Clinton were inspirational to many, the truth is that the majority of white southerners remain what they were before—unwilling to accept racial equality, resentful of Northern liberal influence on their section of the country, and using their religious views to oppose gay rights, labor rights, women’s equality, and immigrant rights.

So despite Bill Clinton backing the fight against Amendment One in North Carolina, putting traditional marriage alone in the state constitution, the amendment passed easily, most notably supported by the Reverend Billy Graham, now 93, who along with his preacher son, Franklin Graham, show us just how little progress has been made in North Carolina, the last “Old South” state to ban gay marriage in its constitution.

Even with the popularity of Bill Clinton nationally, and the fact of the victories years ago of both Clinton and Jimmy Carter, the “Old South” is still very much evident in what some attempt to consider the “New South”! The past is not yet past, sad to say!