Obama and Gay Marriage or Shut the Hell Up and Let the Man Run the Country

Obama and Gay Marriage or Shut the Hell Up and Let the Man Run the Country
by Brandon Lacy Campos

Brandon Lacy Campos, ever fierce and brilliant, gives his take on why queer activists need to get some perspective in his recent blog about Obama and gay marriage. I encourage you to read the whole thing but here are a couple of excerpts:

So, I have seen numerous articles lately yellin' and screamin' and lambastin' Obama for not speaking out on the subject of gay marriage. Though President Obama has made his support for civil rights clear, and though he has made mention in the past that he supports civil unions, and though every indicator shows that if the Democrats in Congress got their thumbs out of their asses and passed a repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act he would sign it, still, certain, largely privileged white middle class gays, seem to think that Obama should stop his work on the economy, health care, two wars, and poverty in order to take up arms on the gay marriage front. Get a damn life people.

Feeling a little uncomfortable yet? Here's more.

Let's be clear: Obama is not perfect, but he is working on the bigger picture...which, right now, means getting the almost 10% of people in this country that are unemployed back to work. That means ending two wars that are draining tens of billions of dollars a month out of our economy and killing innocent soliders and innocent Iraqis and Afghanis. That means changing our health care system so that it makes sense and the 40 million uninsured in this nation have access to health care. THOSE are the issues that Obama should be focused on. THOSE are the issues that he is focused on. And the largely white gay men that are attempting to UNSTRATEGICALLY force his hand are going to do nothing but lay the groundwork for a base splitting circus that will, in the long term, hurt the queer movement and result in a retardation of the amazing work around marriage equality that has already been done.

As a queer woman who flew to Massachusetts to legally marry my handsome wuzband three years ago, I am a strong supporter of the right for queer folk to marry. I frankly can't believe we aren't there already. Not everyone wants to get married, but could we at least have the choice!? But here's something to ponder: If more white, queer middle class folks would stop seeing queer marriage as THE issue for our community and realize that housing, immigration rights, racial justice, poverty, prison reform are our issues, too... well THAT would change the dialogue all together.

Brandon is right. Obama's got a program and he's working it. We should, too.

Brandon Lacy Campos blogs at My Feet Only Walk Forward

And for anyone who might be questioning Obama's comfort with and support for queer folks, check out this line from his comments at the May 9 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner:

"David Axelrod is here. Yeah David and I have been, been together for a long time. I, I can still remember. I get a, sort of, I, I tear up a little bit, when I, when I think back to that day that I called Ax, so many years ago and said, 'You and I can do wonderful things together.' And he said to me the same thing that partners all across America are saying to one another right now: 'Let's go to Iowa and make it official.'"

'Nuff said.

Lastly, on a different but related note, check out (openly lesbian) Wanda Sykes, featured at the same White House Correspondents' Dinner, who just hits it out of the ball park!

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