More Respond to Obama Announcement More reaction, largely positive, from activist leaders.

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http://www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2012/05/09/more-respond-obama-announcement


Capehart, Gillibrand, Olson

Reactions continue:

Anthony D. Romero, executive director, American Civil Liberties Union: “President Obama is doing the right thing and showing leadership by recognizing that lesbians and gays should be treated as equal citizens. The freedom to marry whomever we love and want to share our life with is fundamental to who we are and what we stand for as a country. The fight for fairness and equal treatment under the law for all Americans took a critical step forward today.”



Anthony Martinez, executive director of the Civil Rights Agenda, based in Obama's former hometown, Chicago: “I'm proud to be an Illinoisan today. The state that promoted Abraham Lincoln may now also claim the president who will work to end government sanctioned discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. He understands that his legacy rests on the basic issues of civil rights. Like President Lincoln, President Obama knows this is what makes our country great. Today’s announcement by President Obama is not only historic, but is a major step forward for LGBT Americans who every day live with the idea that we are supposed to be equal citizens and are supposed to have the same rights as everyone else, but that is not the case. We are second class citizens in the land of the free. Today, the president has taken a firm stand that all people should be equal. No matter who one loves, every citizen should be able to access the same rights and responsibilities of the civil institution of marriage.”

Rick Garcia, policy adviser for the Civil Rights Agenda: “This is an amazing moment. The president was a supporter of our issues since I worked with him in the Illinois Senate. Frankly, President Obama has been on record supporting gay marriage, when he ran for Senate. This just shows us that politically, LGBT issues are not the wedge issue they once were. We are in a new era and we must continue to build the momentum towards full and equal rights for all LGBT Americans. Now we just have to make sure LGBT folks get out and vote in this upcoming election.”



Windy City Times publisher Tracy Baim, whose newspaper (then called Outlines) carried Obama's statement of support for marriage equality in his 1996 state Senate run, on her Facebook page: “He did it -- he came back to truth, back to reality.”

[1StrongBlackMan]

1. The reaction that I find most interesting ...

is that of Gay and Lesbian "conservatives."

By way of background:

In my local (AZ) daily rag's on-line comment section, I frequently encounter a Gay, "Anyone but (President) Obama, Freedom-loving, 2nd Amendment supporting, Civil War re-enacting, teapartyist. When questioned on how he can support the gop when the gop actively works to relegate him to second-class citizenship and openly considers his sexual orientation to be a "deviant lifestyle choice", he deflects the question by saying: "Being Gay is WHAT I am; not WHO I am", or (my favorite) "The most vicious attacks that I have suffered with respect to my being Gay, does not come from conservatives; but rather, from liberals."

So, I couldn't wait for his response to President Obama's statement on SSM. His response:

"It's merely political pandering ... He's done nothing for the LGBT community ... If he really meant it, he would have done something for the LGBT community long before campaign season." (I guess he's on the Log Cabin listserv?)

When I asked how on Earth a conservative could be critical of President Obama's "evolution", which includes DADT and his refusal to defend DOMA, when his party seeks to devolve, he just repeated the pandering claim and called DADT and DOMA, "merely bones thrown out to placate naive Gays."

I guess cognitive dissonance is alive and well in the conservative wing of the lgbt community.