The Right-Wing Lost, right?

It seems the Obama administration needs to be reminded that conservatives lost the election. I understand that it isn’t very feasible for a president to dive head first into political hot button issues, even a president with high approval ratings.
But the Justice Department memo in support of the Defensive of Marriage Act (DOMA) is an overt pandering to the right.

DOMA allows states and prevents the federal government from recognizing marriages and unions between same-sex couples. This means that if a couple gets married in Iowa and moves to a state that doesn’t recognize them as a married couple then they can be refused hospital visitation, estate planning becomes trickier, and basic dignity goes out the window.

President Obama expressed in campaigns that he did not support DOMA, but the actions of his administration seem to counter this position. Due to the response by the LGBTQ community and allies the White House offered this quick rebuttal:
White House spokesman Shin Inouye said "The President has said he wants to see a legislative repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act because it prevents LGBT couples from being granted equal rights and benefits. However, until Congress passes legislation repealing the law, the administration will continue to defend the statute when it is challenged in the justice system." –LA Times
This seems like a bit of a cop out and it shows that the administration plans to do nothing in an effort to progress gay rights in this country.

Perhaps this is isn’t the most critical issue when people within our borders and beyond are facing poverty in the face. However, it is an issue of principle and civil rights.
Ironically, I found an Obama quote that expresses why it is important to show outrages over this issue.

“As a state Senator, I have taken on the issue of civil rights for the LGBT community as if they were my own struggle because I believe strongly that the infringement of rights for any one group eventually endangers the rights enjoyed under law by the entire population.” -Windy City Times 2-11-2004

Wake up and smell the oppression people!

Hate in 2008

Proposition 8 and the other anti-equal rights agendas that were passed last week are an attack on all of us. If our democracy is allowed to break down what couples have the right to formally committ to loving each other, this is not a true democracy. I chose the sign "I am a victim of H8" not because I am gay, in fact I identify mostly as heterosexual, but because prejudice, injustice and hate hurts everyone.

The marriage issue is not the only discrimination LGBT face. Many states have no protection against firing individuals based on their sexual orientation. What would happen if a straight person was fired for that reason and not based on their merit? There would be outrage and rightfully so! In August Louisana allowed their anti-discrimination law to protect LGBT community lapsed and was not renewed by the current governor of the state. "The reason for allowing the order to lapse is that I don’t think it is necessary to create additional special categories or special rights,” Jindal told The New Orleans Advocate newspaper. Not being fired for something unrelated to your work performance is now a special right?

However there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel. First all people are fighting back. There have been many demonstrations in California and on Saturday many more people across the country will Join the Impact. Keith Olbermann shared a wonderful comment about the issue on a recent show and many others have expressed similar sentiment.

Also, when you look at the exit polls from California, people under 30 years of age were least likely to vote for the proposition. This shows so much promise for the future.

As an added bonus to all of this, Connecticut just started issuing legal marriage licenses to same-sex couples!