Well, mostly evolved, but more about that later.
It’s important to note significant events when they happen, and today Obama became the first sitting US President to support marriage equality. To many of us, that’s a bit like saying one thinks oxygen is good, but it took Obama a little longer to reach that point.
His critics are legion. From the side of the good guys came complaints that he should have done it years ago or, at least, before yesterday’s vote in North Carolina. Some argue that his equivocation that states should be able to make their own marriage laws means nothing’s changed. Still others on our side of the political divide just dislike him for obscure reasons.
Our adversaries, of course, piled on him. They said—well, it doesn’t really matter what they said because they say the same things every time and, in any case, there was no way that they’d ever vote for him, even if he’d instead backed a constitutional amendment to forever ban marriage equality (as presumptive Republican Nominee Mitt Romney does). Still, the people who would never, ever vote for him are extra double-plus not going to vote him. Yawn.
All of which does beg the question: Does this change anything? Yes, no and maybe.
Yes, because it could change lives: It sends a clear message to young people that the President of the United States thinks they’re worthwhile and they, too, can grow up, one day fall in love and marry that person, even if they’re of the same gender. If it stops just one GLBT youth from committing suicide, then I’d say we got a pretty sweet deal.
No, it will not change any rightwing minds. Until their hearts and minds open, there’s nothing anyone can say that will cause them to come to their senses. It could energise rightwing religious nutjobs (aka, the base of the Republican Party), but Romney will still be a Mormon, and that’s a huge problem with that same base.
Maybe this will make some independents and also progressive Democrats “come home” and support the president’s re-election. Apart from the permanently grumpy brigade on the left, this could help re-energise supporters. Whether this happens or not will determine whether Obama’s statement will affect the election or not.
The whole state thing means this evolution is incomplete. I think it’s a stupid position for anyone to have—but it’s also politically realistic. The USA is a federal union of 50 sovereign republics and marriage is a state matter. The activist right is riled up whenever they think “states’ rights” are being curtailed by politicians, and those loonies gave us a Republican-controlled US House of Representatives. That’s the realistic part.
However, the refusal of one state to recognise a same-sex marriage from another state sure looks awfully unconstitutional, as does that part of the Defense (sic) of Marriage Act that says they can do that. Congress simply can’t give states a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card to allow them to ignore other states’ same-sex marriages.
Even when DOMA is finally repealed or struck down, it will take a US Supreme Court ruling to compel states to recognise these marriages, just as it took Loving v. Virginia to force some states to recognise inter-racial marriage and to overturn state laws forbidding it. A president should lead on that front: Romney never will, but I’m now willing to bet that a re-elected President Obama will.
Today is very much better than yesterday. Thank you, Mr. President, for helping to make history happen just a little bit faster.
Photo accompanying this post was Tweeted by @TheDemocrats, the Twitter feed of the USA’s Democratic Party.
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