Calling on President Obama to Stand up for Full Marriage Equality Now

June 24, 2011, Melanie Nathan,

Photo by Kristina Lapinski, of GAY USA The Movie

The venue and current battle ground for marriage equality is New York State and as it happens, President Barack Obama is in New York  fundraising for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).  The Mammoth in the room is marriage equality, in New York, specifically, because the President is present and has yet to come out fully for marriage equality, at a time when Democratic lawmakers in Albany are scraping up support to bring the  Governor Cuomo’s same-​sex marriage bill to a vote on the floor.

With the current  battle ground and the timing, President Obama must address the issue, given that he is fundraising at venues that include those of us who are so marginalized by law.   One such fundraiser includes  “Gala with the Gay Community,” an LGBT Democratic fundraiser. In fact it is time now for the President to speak to the repeal of Defense of Marriage Act, (DOMA) and maybe that is what is holding him back.  After all how would it look if a President came out in support of marriage equality in a specific State , such as New York; without noting the importance of the 1,100 plus Federal laws denied same-sex couples because of the DOMA, which specifically legislates that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

I believe that now is also the time for America to take up the issue and to show the president that we support basic American principles. We need to see more than just LGBT organizations in this fight. We need America and we need America now!

Republican lawmakers are of course hindering the vote on the bill  in New York as they would do with regard to DOMA and its repeal.  So as the protests grow in Manhattan, we in the remaining States should descend in support of New York and as importantly on any venue where the President appears, screaming and stamping our feet also  for the repeal of DOMA.

Nothing short of vehement protests will achieve this basic equality and while the Courts and Public opinion are tipped in favor of equality, there is one third of our population which can be swayed to the imperative notion that full marriage equality is the last frontier in the civil rights movement, to which we all belong, as if one.

This is an opportunity for a movement to emerge where the gay and lesbian community may well be poised for straight alliances, like never before. This is a chance for anyone who believes in three core American principles to step forward.

To have simple courage – to assert:

In America-

1. All People are entitled to pursue their happiness equally and for as long as there is an institution of marriage any legitimate couple ought to have the right to belong;

2. All People are entitled to the applicability of civil laws when committing to a marital relationship intended for life – with full separation from religious implications as they pertain to some; and

3. All People are Equal, regardless of  sexual orientation, and gender identity.

At the  Sheraton Hotel in midtown Manhattan tonight hundreds may show to protest,  and I ask where is that extra one third of America who has yet to come out in favor of full equality and who all believe in the principles reflected upon above ?  Where are those of you who would have marched with Martin Luther King Jr.  were you able?

Who ever you are, where ever you are – now is the time –  who are you – where are you – who can ascribe to the above principles?

Take the lead straight America, have it be on your watch, your generation, your lifetime – that the last bastion of discrimination is eradicated.

We need you – where are you?

Most of all President Obama it is time –  lead fully; without the repeal of the most discriminatory law on the books – your lead is not full and nor is it equal!

by Melanie Nathan.
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Melanie Nathan Time to get the last bastion eradicated…. http://wp.me/pqRPa-LL its time to get Americans with conscience involved. Perhaps the educational connect could be the analogy I have been loathe to use until now – that the last piece of legislation I read that specifically excluded a class of persons from enjoying the same rights as others was the Group Areas Act in South Africa during the height of apartheid…..