Organizing for America | Vicki Forte's Blog: Senator Obama: Being gay or lesbian is not a choice

Senator Obama: Being gay or lesbian is not a choice

By Vicki L. Forte' - Mar 11th, 2008 at 10:43 pm EDT

Also listed in: 4 groups

Comments | Mail to a Friend | Report Objectionable Content

Senator Barack Obama on Gay Rights

-Being gay or lesbian is not a choice. (Nov 2007)
-Decisions about marriage should be left to the states. (Oct 2007)
-Homosexuality no more immoral than heterosexuality. (Oct 2007)
-Ok to expose 6-year-olds to gay couples; they know already. (Sep 2007)
-Has any marriage broken up because two gays hold hands? (Aug 2007)
-We need strong civil unions, not just weak civil unions. (Aug 2007)
-Legal rights for gays are conferred by state, not by church. (Aug 2007)
-Disentangle gay rights from the word "marriage". (Aug 2007)
-Gay marriage is less important that equal gay rights. (Aug 2007)
-Gay rights movement is somewhat like civil rights movement. (Aug 2007)
-Let each denominations decide on recognizing gay marriage. (Jul 2007)
-Supports health benefits for gay civil partners. (Oct 2006)
-Opposes gay marriage; supports civil union & gay equality. (Oct 2006)
-Marriage not a human right; non-discrimination is. (Oct 2004)
-Include sexual orientation in anti-discrimination laws. (Jul 1998)
http://www.ontheissues.org/Barack_Obama.htm#Civil_Rights

*********************************************************

Barack Obama on Gay Rights

Being gay or lesbian is not a choice

Q: You had one supporter on a Bible tour in South Carolina who said that homosexuality was a curse and that he had been cured by prayer. Do you believe homosexuality's a curse?

A: No.

Q: Do you believe that it is something that you are born gay or that you can change your behavior?

A: I do not believe being gay or lesbian is a choice. And so I disagree with [that supporter]. But part of what I hope to offer as president is the ability to reach to people that I don't agree with, and the evangelical community is one where the Democratic Party, I think, we have generally seen as hostile. We haven't been reaching out to them, and I think that if we're going to makes significant progress on critical issues that we face, we've got to be able to get beyond our comfort zones and just talk to people we don't like. I've tried to do is to reach out to the evangelical community and tell them very clearly where I disagree. Source: Meet the Press: 2007 "Meet the Candidates" series Nov 11, 2007

Decisions about marriage should be left to the states

One of Obama's pragmatic stands troubling to progressives is on gay marriage. In the Senate debate, Obama opposed the right-wing Federal Marriage Amendment to ban gay marriage nationally and said: "I agree with most Americans, with Democrats and Republicans, with Vice President Cheney, with over 2,000 religious leaders of all different beliefs, that decisions about marriage, as they always have, should be left to the states."

However, Obama also declared, "Personally, I do believe that marriage is between a man and a woman." At the same time, Obama has strongly supported civil unions, arguing that it is a way to protect equal rights without taking the politically risky approach of gay marriage.
Source: The Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson, p.114-115 Oct 30, 2007

Homosexuality no more immoral than heterosexuality

A reporter asked Obama, "What do you think about General Pace's comments that homosexuality is immoral?" Obama said, "I think traditionally the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman has restricted his public comments to military matters. That's a good tradition to follow. I think the question here is whether somebody is willing to sacrifice for their country, should they be able to? If they are doing all the things that are needed to be done."

Obama later said, "I don't think homosexuals are immoral any more than I think heterosexuals are immoral." Obama has taken a forthright stand calling for the end of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. He said, "It is time to review the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy and do what is in the best interests of our national security. At time when the services are having a tough time recruiting and training troops, it seems foolish to kick out good soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who want to serve." Source: The Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson, p.115 Oct 30, 2007

Ok to expose 6-year-olds to gay couples; they know already

Q: Last year some parents of second graders in Lexington, Massachusetts, were outraged to learn their children's teacher had read a story about same-sex marriage, about a prince who marries another prince. Would you be comfortable having this story read to your children as part of their school curriculum?

A: My 9-year-old and my 6-year-old are already aware that there are same-sex couples. And my wife and I have talked about it. And one of the things I want to communicate to my children is not to be afraid of people who are different, and because there have been times in our history where I was considered different. And one of the things I think the next president has to do is to stop fanning people's fears.

Q: Have you sat down with your daughters to talk about same-sex marriage?

A: My wife has.
Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate at Dartmouth College Sep 6, 2007

Has any marriage broken up because two gays hold hands?

The notion of gay marriage has been used to divide people in black churches. I pointed out that if there's any pastor here who can point out a marriage that has been broken up as a consequence of seeing two men or two women holding hands, then you should tell me, because I haven't seen any evidence of it. And if you think that issue is more important to the black family than the fact that black men don't have any jobs and are struggling in the inner cities, then I profoundly disagree with you.
Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues Aug 9, 2007

We need strong civil unions, not just weak civil unions

It is my strong belief that the government has to treat all citizens equally. I come from that in part out of personal experience. When you're a black guy named Barack Obama, you know what it's like to be on the outside. And so my concern is continually to make sure that the rights that are conferred by the state are equal for all people.

That's why I opposed DOMA in 2006 when I ran for the Senate. That's why I am a strong supporter not of a weak version of civil unions, but of a strong version, in which the rights that are conferred at the federal level to persons who are part of the same sex union are compatible.

When it comes to federal rights, the over 1,100 rights that right now are not being given to same sex couples, I think that's unacceptable, and as president of the United States, I am going to fight hard to make sure that those rights are available.
Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues Aug 9, 2007

Legal rights for gays are conferred by state, not by church

Q: You have said in previous debates that it is up to individual religious denominations to decide whether or not to recognize same-sex marriage. What place does the church have in government-sanctioned civil marriages?

A: It is my strong belief that the government has to treat all citizens equally. I don't think that the church should be making these determinations when it comes to legal rights conferred by the state. I do think that individual denominations have the right to make their own decisions as to whether they recognize same sex couples. My denomination, United Church of Christ, does. Other denominations may make a decision, and obviously, part of keeping a separation of churches and state is also to make sure that churches have the right to exercise their freedom of religion.
Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues Aug 9, 2007

Disentangle gay rights from the word "marriage"

Q: If you were back in the Illinois legislature where you served and the issue of civil marriage came before you, how would you have voted on that?

A: My view is that we should try to disentangle what has historically been the issue of the word "marriage," which has religious connotations to some people, from the civil rights that are given to couples, in terms of hospital visitation, in terms of whether or not they can transfer property or Social Security benefits and so forth. So it depends on how the bill would've come up. I would've supported and would continue to support a civil union that provides all the benefits that are available for a legally sanctioned marriage. And it is then, as I said, up to religious denominations to make a determination as to whether they want to recognize that as marriage or not.
Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues Aug 9, 2007

Gay marriage is less important that equal gay rights

Q: On the grounds of civil marriage, can you see to our community where [your stance of separating gay rights from the word "marriage"] comes across as sounding like "separate but equal"?

A: Look, when my parents got married in 1961, it would have been illegal for them to be married in a number of states in the South. So obviously, this is something that I understand intimately, it's something that I care about. But if I were advising the civil rights movement back in 1961 about its approach to civil rights, I would have probably said it's less important that we focus on an anti-miscegenation law than we focus on a voting rights law and a non-discrimination and employment law and all the legal rights that are conferred by the state. Now, it's not for me to suggest that you shouldn't be troubled by these issues. But my job as president is going to be to make sure that the legal rights that have consequences on a day to day basis for loving same sex couples all across the country.
Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues Aug 9, 2007

Gay rights movement is somewhat like civil rights movement

Q: Would you put the fight among gays and lesbians for civil rights on a par with the civil rights movement for African-Americans?

A: My attitude is if people are being treated unfairly and unequally, then it needs to be fixed. So I'm always very cautious about getting into comparisons of victimology. You know, the issues that gays and lesbians face today are different from the issues that were faced by African-Americans under Jim Crow. That doesn't mean, though, that there aren't parallels in the sense that legal status is not equal. And that has to be fixed. I'm going to be more sympathetic not because I'm black. I'm going to be more sympathetic because this has been the cause of my life and will continue to be the cause of my life, making sure that everybody's treated fairly and that we've got an expansive view of America, where everybody's invited in and we are all working together to create the kind of America that we want for the next generation.
Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues Aug 9, 2007

Let each denominations decide on recognizing gay marriage

Q: The laws banning interracial marriage were ruled unconstitutional in 1967. What is the difference between a ban on interracial marriage and a ban on gay marriage?

A: We've got to make sure that everybody is equal under the law. And the civil unions that I proposed would be equivalent in terms of making sure that all the rights that are conferred by the state are equal for same-sex couples as well as for heterosexual couples. Now, with respect to marriage, it's my belief that it's up to the individual denominations to make a decision as to whether they want to recognize marriage or not. But in terms of, you know, the rights of people to transfer property, to have hospital visitation, all those critical civil rights that are conferred by our government, those should be equal.
Source: 2007 YouTube Democratic Primary debate, Charleston SC Jul 23, 2007

Supports health benefits for gay civil partners

On the Federal Marriage Amendment, Obama staked out his position on marriage rights for gays:

I realize that for some Americans, this is an important issue. I should say that personally, I do believe that marriage is between a man & a woman. But let's be honest. That is not what this debate is about. Not at this time. This debate is an attempt to break a consensus that is quietly being forged.

It is a consensus between a majority of Americans who say, "Maybe some of us are comfortable with gay marriage right now and some of us are not. But most of us do believe that gay couples should be able to visit each other in the hospital & share health care benefits; and should be treated with dignity and have their privacy respected."

Obama's position is sensitive to the rights of gay people. Health care benefits for partners is a huge issue. Keeping the federal government and the Constitution out of the marriage debate is a huge win for supporters of gay and lesbian rights.
Source: Should Barack Obama be President, by F. Zimmerman, p. 39-40 Oct 17, 2006

Opposes gay marriage; supports civil union & gay equality

For many practicing Christians, the inability to compromise may apply to gay marriage. I find such a position troublesome, particularly in a society in which Christian men and women have been known to engage in adultery or other violations of their faith without civil penalty. I believe that American society can choose to carve out a special place for the union of a man and a woman as the unit of child rearing most common to every culture. I am not willing to have the state deny American citizens a civil union that confers equivalent rights no such basic matters as hospital visitation or health insurance coverage simlpy because the people they love are of the same sex--nor am I willing to accept a readingof the Bible that considers an obscure line in Romans to be more defining of Christianity than the Sermon on the Mount. The heightened focus on marriage is a distraction from other, attainable measures to prevent discrimination and gays and lesbians.
Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.222-3 Oct 1, 2006

Marriage not a human right; non-discrimination is

Q: Do you think marriage is a human right?

A: I don't think marriage is a civil right, but I think that not being discriminated against is a civil right. I think making sure that we don't engage in the sort of gay-bashing that, I think, has unfortunately dominated this campaign-not just here in Illinois, but across the country-is unfortunate, and that kind of mean-spirited attacks on homosexuals is something that the people of Illinois generally have rejected.
Source: IL Senate Debate Oct 26, 2004

Include sexual orientation in anti-discrimination laws

Q: Do you believe that the Illinois government should include sexual orientation in Illinois' anti-discrimination laws?

A: Yes.

Q: Do you believe that the Illinois government should recognize same-sex marriages?

A: Undecided
Source: 1998 IL State Legislative National Political Awareness Test Jul 2, 1998

interview/info found at http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Barack_Obama_Civil_Rights.htm#Gay_Rights

Show 2 Reader Comments	Comments RSS
Comments are closed for this post.

Content on blogs in My.BarackObama represents the opinions of community members and in no way should be interpreted as endorsed or approved by the campaign.