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Nov 05, 2008 09:24

I was reading that Obama wants to pass the Matthew Shepard Act. No, he is opposed to gay marriage, but this does not make him homophobic. Most candidates do not approve of gay marriage, and that is fine. But, this act will be historical and something a lot of people have been waiting for. I cannot begin to even explain how important this act is to ( Read more... )

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friendofjack November 5 2008, 17:17:18 UTC
I hope it passes. We should get hate crimes protection, employment non-discrimination, and the right to openly serve in the military without a doubt. My fear is that the Democratic Party will do to gay and lesbian Americans what it has done in the past, which is to cower away from taking any action on our behalf.

I am disappointed with Obama's positions on gay and lesbian issues to date. He did not do enough to help defeat Proposition 8, for example. I donated and volunteered and voted and basically put a lot of energy into getting Obama elected and I expect more from him than I have ever expected of any other candidate. He needs to offer us more than just words. He owes us more than just speeches. The gay and lesbian Americans who helped put him in the Oval Office deserve more.

The bar has been raised higher for Obama. He is better than any other president we've ever had. I expect him to rise to the challenge and I look forward to working with him in passing legislation that brings the promise of America to all its citizens -- gay and straight alike.

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zimzat November 6 2008, 02:18:45 UTC
Obama has never said he supports gay marriage. In point of fact he has said he doesn't. What he does support, though, is civil unions for gays and equal rights for all people with civil unions compared to married couples. That has always been his stance and we elected him. He owes us nothing more than that.

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friendofjack November 6 2008, 02:54:51 UTC
Like any politician, he has been very calculating in his positions on marriage. He does not support gay marriage, but he is also against amending state constitutions to ban them.

Only after his position had been misconstrued this past week by the Yes on 8 campaign in California did he bother to issue anything other than a mild statement against the anti-gay amendment.

Right now, his position on gay marriage is very Clintonian in that he is attempting to have both contradictory positions at the same time. He does not support making gay marriage legal, but he does not support making it illegal, either.

One of the things I worry about is that Obama is like Bill Clinton and that we're just another constituency to throw under the bus when we're no longer useful.

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