Open Letter to LGBT Folks & Allies re: DoJ Brief

ThinkinPinko

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Tuesday June 16, 2009 · 8:25 AM PDT

2009/06/16 · 08:25

A week ago, I sent a letter to the Obama Administration in the midst of my anger over the Department of Justice’s brief in support of DOMA. I haven’t been feeling very good about that letter, which ended with the following rather overwrought sentence: “Until you demonstrate that you are our fierce ally, you have lost my good will, and that of many other supporters who have, perhaps naively, supported you.”

Every day, I am reminded of the incredibly difficult array of problems we face as a country and a world. I can barely imagine how I would juggle all of the critical concerns that we all share, and the political realities that make simple solutions impossible.

Despite the wrath that I felt in response to the DoJ brief, I have never seen marriage equality as the most important—or perhaps even the 100th most—important issue that we face as a country or as LGBT people. I am mindful that as Americans and citizens of the world, LGBT people need our president to succeed in implementing an incredibly broad agenda. Let’s be real—extending healthcare to all Americans (with a public option) would serve more LGBT people than does marriage equality. Reversing global warming is critical to all of us.

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