In The Observer, Joanna Walters wrote a great article about how Obama set a quiet tone for gay equality.
Whether people like it or not, Obama's win has sparked hope for gay rights and we are moving forward in a pretty good stride. However, folks are forgetting that notion and turning fickle by the minute. With that said, the article speaks on the things some folks may not think about.
This spring, Obama specifically sent out invitations to gay parents to attend the annual Easter egg roll on the White House lawn. Trite, perhaps, but revealing. And Stanford law professors Kathleen Sullivan and Pamela Karlan, both openly gay, may not be regarded as frontrunners to fill the gap in the supreme court when Obama announces his nominee, but their very mention is an epiphany.
Gay congressman Barney Frank, often voted brainiest and wittiest politician in Congress, is currently orchestrating federal anti-discrimination legislation to protect gay people in the work place.
New York state Republican assemblywoman Janet Duprey voted No on the gay marriage bill when it failed to become law in 2007, but voted Yes earlier this month and now hopes it will pass in the state senate. She said she was persuaded by the presence of a lesbian couple living three doors down on her block, and the opinions of "lovely, reasonable" gay constituents - "doctors, teachers, government workers, all sorts of decent citizens" - who lobbied her.
Duprey is now receiving cards warning her that she will burn in hell, but she said coming into contact with ordinary gay people who "just wanted equal rights" swayed her. Civil union partnerships have too many legal weaknesses, she said. "Everyone needs a lesbian couple on their block."
Meanwhile, Rachel Maddow is lobbying for Obama immediately to issue a moratorium on troops being discharged from the military for being openly gay, including a soldier who came out on her show.
Other campaigners are prepared to give Obama the benefit of the doubt for now, while he fixes the economy and deals with two wars.
It's a great article, please check it out.
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