Same-Sex Marriage: What's Your Take?
President Obama and Rep. John Lewis both come out in favor of what remains a controversial issue.
President Barack Obama made history Wednesday, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to openly support same-sex marriage.
Rep. John Lewis, whose district includes portions of East Atlanta Patch, issued a statement saying he supports it as well:
“In President Obama's interview with Robin Roberts, he described the kind of steps many Americans have taken on the issue of same sex marriage. Once people begin to see the similarities between themselves and others, instead of focusing on differences, they come to recognize that equality is essentially a matter of human rights and human dignity. The President's growth reflects the growth of many Americans on this issue. I am glad to see more Americans, including President Obama, empathize with the struggles of same-sex couples and express willingness in state after state to give their unions the same legal rights as other married couples.”
Both men are running for reelection this year — Obama against the presumptive Republican nominee, former Massachussetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Lewis against for Judge Michael Johnson.
What impact do you think this will have on their reelection efforts? What do you think of the gay marriage issue?
skullcap
8:53 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
The preamble of our Declaration of Independence is laden with hints and instructions for redressing the interference by "any Form of Government" with the unalienable rights endowed by the Creator. When it says that "it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish" such forms of government, it does not qualify that is is a right reserved for only a majority of the people. It only qualifies that prudence should be applied to prevent a revolution for what it calls "light and transient causes."
If mobs at the state-level are enshrining in their constitutions any form of interference with these unalienable rights, it stands to reason that a non-sectarian, civil extension of these rights is no such "light and transient cause".
Now, whether or not the wisdom of common sense and that of a few brave leaders will persevere in this era of - virtually microwavable - instant gratification, may be one of history's opportunities to test America's allegiance to or abandonment of our founding principles.
Péralte Paul
4:40 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Hey, Skullcap: Some folks would argue that our constitutions — both the federal and those governing the various states and commonwealths — are fluid documents, not static. That said, changing them is a serious step that must be considered very carefully.
Space Ship
1:06 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
You're polling Atlanta their opinions about same-sex marriage? That's like asking Bobby Cox if he loves baseball, or asking Mayor Reed if he drinks Pepsi. Consider the political climate you're in - might as well be asking a rhetorical question.
Péralte Paul
4:46 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Hi, Space Ship: Not everyone who lives ITP is a granola-eating, earth crunching liberal. Conversely, OTPers aren't all stand-ins for "Deliverance."
(As a native New Yorker, I love Pepsi. But I'd hope the Mayor of Atlanta would be a booster for Coke! :-) )
Space Ship
8:49 am on Friday, May 11, 2012
I disagree. Intolerant people couldn't stand living ITP.
Péralte Paul
10:46 am on Saturday, May 12, 2012
Hey, Space Ship: Do you think once the BeltLine is completed, there will be three tiers of exclusivity: ITB (inside the BeltLine), ITP (inside the perimeter) and OTP (outside the perimeter)?
ITB - The "coolest" people
OTB but ITP - People who are not as cool but still cooler than those who are OTP?
MaryA
12:10 pm on Saturday, May 12, 2012
The three tiers is an interesting idea. Of course, ITB (inside the Beltline) will have the "coolest" people.
skullcap
12:54 pm on Saturday, May 12, 2012
Comparing the future beltline to our perimeter highway in its effect as a socio-cultural membrane is disingenuous. The perimiter had the effect of dividing intact communities on our city's periphery and eliminated permeable neighborhoods, as with the rest of the urban interstate system. The beltline proposes to unite the city, but especially those communities that were casualties of xenophobia and a late 20th century American myth of the vitues of suburban homogeneity.
Péralte Paul
10:34 am on Friday, June 15, 2012
True it's probably not the best way to say it, but I think people will still seek to differentiate to some degree. I'll bet that real estate closest to the BeltLine will increase in value. There will be some economic stratification. As for uniting the city, some neighborhoods already are harping on some recent crimes where the the robbers have used parts of the trail as their getaway route.
Mommia
10:38 pm on Sunday, May 13, 2012
This is less murky when you look at it as a civil rights issue. Our government is founded on the separation of church and state so I really cannot understand why it is an issue at all. All adults should have the right to marry the spouse of their choosing.