There is a reason why President-Elect Obama has never offered up a good excuse as to why he doesn't support marriage equality for same-sex couples. Why? He supported full marriage equality for same-sex couples 12 years ago, when he was running for State Senate. What gives? Politics, obviously.
Now, some may view this as a good thing. I can hear these people right now, in my head: "See, he really supports us! All of this civil union talk is just politics!"
Maybe, but those people are missing the point. What this really shows is that to President Obama civil rights for gays, lesbians and transgendered people is something to be bargained with. It would never be acceptable to bargain with the rights of others, but it's perfectly fine for people who are glbt. That's become eminently obvious with this whole Rick Warren saga. The fact that Obama was willing to support marriage equality 12 years ago, but not today, only cements the uncomfortable fact.
So what's the prescription? Read below the fold.
The solution, of course, is that we have to make Obama support full equality. He's proven that he'll take the easy path, if we don't block it. If the Democratic Party wants to be a true party of civil rights and equality, it can't be willing to negotiate when it comes to basic and inalienable human rights, such as the right to love and marry anyone who consents and shares those feelings, or the right to not be fired or denied housing simply for being gay. We must hold Obama to that standard.
If we don't, what happens? Will Obama be willing to play politics with other important rights, should he find their passage an inconvenient path that could cost energy, time and votes? Will he allow more people to be fired for being gay? Lives are ruined every day because the Democratic Party I belong to, that I work my ass off for, refuses to risk a few bigoted votes, most of whom will never vote for our party anyway, in order to guarantee equal protection under the law.
Other Presidents before him (LBJ in particular) have made that tough choice, choices that today have given President Obama and his kids many of the rights and protections that they would have been denied just a few decades ago. The progressive community, including those of us who frequent Daily Kos, must demand that Obama do everything within his power, even if it's difficult, even if it takes half his term, to provide glbt people with the equal protections we currently don't enjoy.
But we must do more than that. We must call Obama out on being willing to offer up the glbt community's rights to marriage equality as a sacrificial lamb in order to get whatever is on his agenda. If we don't, it's not going to stop at marriage. Obama owes it to the progressive community to strip DOMA, publicly support the GLBT community and its right to marriage - because that's what a truly good President would do. But he's only going to do it if we make him.