President Barack Obama and the politics of gay marriage: A commentary

President Barack Obama and the politics of gay marriage: A commentary

By

Dhreff

Anchor for Allvoices

President Barack Obama bravely explored the “jungle of same-sex marriage”. Many of his predecessors simply did not mind it. Others casually frowned upon it. Some rejected it. And the rest did not care to look into its significance and implications to the general health of a nation.

President Obama broke the long years and strong of thread of “no touch attitude” on the jungle of that issue. Obama’s historic pronouncement on May 09, 2012 of presidential support for same sex marriage gave a new color and new area of politics in America. Obviously, the verbally expressed executive support for gay marriage provided recognition and granted the much needed human rights for the Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay and Trans-sexual (LBGT} sector of America. It is expected to promote better social health to the nation.

However, it appears that the pronouncement came at a very unholy time - presidential election season. Clearly, it has a single purpose which is to gather and push gay votes to the favor of Obama. There is division in politics of the gay votes. Is Obama assured of 100% gay votes?

Amy Walter et.al on May 9, 2012 asked, “Will gay marriage haunt Obama in November?” Vice President Joe Biden was ahead of President Obama in giving recognition to gay marriage.

Walter answered the question by saying, “President Obama's coalition -- minority voters and young voters -- have very different views about gay marriage, evidenced in 2008 in California, when young voters came out to oppose an amendment that would ban gay marriage, while African Americans supported it.”

Citing Washington Post, “one in six bundlers -- the people who raise the big bucks for the Obama campaign -- is gay. They are still raising money for a man who continues to twist himself into a pretzel over gay marriage, and whose White House still can't figure out how to message it. Why? Because they believe wholeheartedly that he actually supports gay marriage, and if re-elected he will come out in full support of it and flip his position” Walter further said.

Obama caused the whirl wind and dust with his public support to gay marriage. Is his support sufficient enough to make the whirl wind dust of same-sex issue to settle?

May 09 Obama’s statement of support on gay marriage seemed to contradict his public view on the same as evolving. Maintaining the “evolving stance” on the issue, Obama will expect to be lashed with gay marriage come November. Or same-sex marriage will remain to shake the Democrats in 2016.

For Further Reading:

1. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/us/politics/poll-sees-obama-gay-marriage-support-motivated-by-politics.html?_r=1
2. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/obama-talks-gay-marriage-politics-pop-culture-view/story?id=16350683#.T7gYIlKD_Z8
3. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/marriage-obama-brave-warrior-political-late-comer/story?id=16363665#.T7gYY1KD_Z8
4. http://lesbianlife.about.com/od/lesbianactivism/p/BarackObama.htm
5. http://www.obamaandthegays.com/
6. http://news.yahoo.com/obama-talks-gay-marriage-politics-pop-culture-view-142922199.html
7. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/may/10/obama-good-politics-gay-marriage
8. http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/05/14/is-president-obama-playing-politics-with-gay-marriage/
9. http://news.yahoo.com/obama-talks-gay-marriage-politics-pop-culture-view-142922199.html
10. http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/oreilly/2012/05/16/bill-oreilly-politics-gay-marriage-not-working-out-obama