President Obama out of the closet

As I write this, news reports are appearing that say that the President of the United States, facing a very tight re-election, has come out in support of gay marriage. Though this may simply be a  courageous political move to shore up his liberal base, it is still nice to see that some in our society may be getting civil rights that most of us take for granted.

By the way, this does not mean I feel churches should be forced to sanctify homosexual marriages. Quite the contrary actually. If a religious organization does not want gay marrieds or even gay singles  in their congregation than that is there right. An Imam, Rabbi, or Priest should not be forced to marry a homosexual couple because, though legal, it violates their beliefs. Contrary to that, an Imam, Rabbi, or Priest should not force homosexuals in another setting from getting married because it violates their beliefs. This is one instance were I feel church and state shall remain separate.

Soon will come the comparisons to incest or polygamous marriages and how, because society has abhorred them forever, so should we abhor gay marriage.Society's views about sex and marriage have evolved over time. The Bible allowed for married men to have concubines (friends with benefits in today's terms) and multiple wives (one is enough, though my working wife has remarked that she wouldn't mind a housewife for herself). More recently, marriages between black and whites in parts of America were abhorred by society. As recently as little over a century ago, marrying for love was abhorred in many societies. The definition of marriage is constantly changing.

Others will argue that this is a state's right issue. By that faulty logic, slavery would still be legal, schools and public buildings segregated and inter-racial marriage illegal in many states. While I agree the economy is the important issue for this election, a leader needs to take a moral stand. Too many of our leaders let injustice stand for too long in many parts of the country because narrow minded bigots thought God wanted them to discriminate. Too many feel that their religious opinions should have the force of law behind them and that is wrong in many instances (though  approve of thou shalt not kill in cold blood, I'm pretty sure my bacon loving friends would not like enforcement of the kosher laws).

Sometimes a leader has to let the chips fall where they may and tell those who do not believe in freedom for all: "No. You can not force your backwards looking view on others because you think a book written thousands of years ago says you should." It is not for you, me or the government to tell people who they may or may not love. If all are consenting adults and nobody is being harmed, than it is no one's business who marries who in a non-religious ceremony.

This does not mean I think President Obama is extraordinarily brave, however. Like LBJ in the mid 1960s with the civil rights movement, or President Lincoln when he freed the slaves in the rebellious states during the Civil War, he saw that the winds of change have been gathering for a long time and that now just happened to be the politically smart time to role the dice on this issue. LBJ used the recently assassinated President Kennedy to get the Civil Rights laws passed. Who really knows what JFK would have done. Lincoln himself has said he would have kept slavery if it could have prevented the Civil War. However circumstances in 1863 and 1963 changed, allowing those men to make political moves that would have been unthinkable a short time before. 

I say the President is in a similar situation. Circumstances have changed, perhaps through moderate America's response to anti-gay laws, perhaps to just the continued evolution of what is love. Pretty bold move? Yes. While one can argue white conservatives weren't going to vote for him anyway, he is risking alienating the black conservative (church going) vote. However, that is moot for the moment. 

The President has come out in favor of ending discrimination and that is always good. I am happily married to a woman and I'm in favor of gay marriage. Why should homosexuals get away with avoiding all the negatives of marriage just because they are gay (just kidding hon)?