On Wednesday, May 9th, the world was informed that the foremost leader of the most free nation on Earth supports same-sex marriage. President Obama has finally “evolved” as the headlines so eloquently put it. I have communicated with other friends of mine on Facebook whom actually found this whole ordeal a little fishy, as this decision was just made in the height of presidential campaigning procedures.
First of all, I too find this decision to be a MAJOR card just played to place a certain person in front of the presidential candidacy line. However, I find it to be a smart move. When Americans reflect on previous presidential campaigns, each candidate will make promises, hopes, etc. that will provide them a face to people who are currently suffering, or tired of the current regime and their practices.So, it is not uncommon to find some presidential candidates that will utilize more social movement-based agendas as their platform to win the race, while some will use a strict economic-based platform to appeal to others, and some utilize a mixture of the two. Regardless of the platforms being used, it is up to the person to decide what is important to them in a leader. However, that is not to say that being ignorant (not being knowledgable in a specific area of emphasis) is an excuse to blatantly vote for only Republicans or Democrats. You will find that many “Republicans” will change their party affiliation to Democratic only to still hold their current political practices and beliefs.
Getting back on the same-sex marriage issue, you will not only find LGBT people voting in favor of the man who will essentially bring equality and the pursuit of happiness to them, but you will also find that people who identify as a minority tend to vote along these same parameters. Minority groups (sexual-based, race and ethnic-based minorities) tend to suffer from many of the horizontal hostile intentions from a group that identifies as the majority stake-holder. In this instance, white, heterosexual, Christian males tend to make up the majority stake-holders in the United States. So, while people feel that African-Americans or Latin-Americans will not vote in favor of gay marriage due to their predominantly perceived religious affiliations, you would be wrong.
While religion is a large factor in how minority groups function as a whole, when a pressing and discriminatory agent is still lingering, it is almost impossible to turn a blind eye to that situation and rationalize that they have no ties to the injustices being committed. In other words, you will find that most of your minority groups will vote in favor of both a law that would dismantle a discriminatory agent as well as the person who appeals to people who are under represented, not heard, not seen, etc. The foundation of this country does not rest of revolve around the single criteria of religion, as many people tend to cherry-pick around. You will find that the foundation of this country, was to allow people to practice freedom of religion free from persecution, obtain land, and to be individuals. The basis of conservative practices actually roots this perspective in their laws, agendas, etc. However, with a mixture of a heavily weighted religious foundation to the political party, it is no wonder that we are finding extreme polar opposites in liberals and conservatives.
To end this post, let me mention that no one has ever achieved anything by sitting idle. Voicing opposition is the forefront of being a democratic nation. Just because a law exists does not mean it is appropriate or even human by proxy. Laws are man-made, we have the ability to change them. President Obama is the man who could ultimately make a huge change on a subject that has been so controversial, that it could be political suicide for him to have made this decision. Obama has my support, as a fellow gay man, I for one will vote for a person who will allow me to pursue my happiness, allowing me to marry my fiancé of three years, allowing us to be together without the threat of my fiancé being deported if his visa ever expired or became invalid (for whatever reason). No one person has the right to decide who can love and who cannot.
