Advocate.com
Senator Barack Obama's campaign is reportedly launching a "Faith, Family and Values Tour" next week that will include Catholic legal scholar Douglas Kmiec as one of the campaign's surrogates. Kmiec wrote an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle this summer in which he urged support for passing California's marriage ban, Proposition 8.
Hmmm, here we go again?
I now see that we will not be looking to the White House for leadership in this area. Am I dissapointed? No, just having my suspicions confirmed.
The Christian Broadcasting Network is reporting that the Obama campaign will soon be kicking off a faith tour next week called the "Barack Obama: Faith, Family and Values Tour" designed to woo the votes of left-leaning Catholics, progressive Evangelicals, and some conservative mainline Protestants. If LGBT people find the tour eerily reminiscent of the South Carolina gospel tour the campaign arranged last year with anti-gay ex-gay gospel singer Donnie McClurkin, their instincts may not be far off.
(snip)
In the op-ed, Kmiec says the state Supreme Court ignored the separation of church and state in its ruling and argues that allowing gay marriage serves to separate the institution of marriage from procreation.
He concludes his op-ed: "When carefully assessed, the acquisition of unnatural reproductive means often advances the interests of the very affluent through a libertarian exercise that would threaten all hope of democratic equality. In a depopulating world, the claim that there is a universal right to marry regardless of gender becomes a frightening ally of a claimed universal right to access to genetically engineered children. People should reject this claim by returning traditional marriage to its rightful place."
Obama was contacted for comment, and here is his response:
"Senator Obama's position on LGBT equality is clear and he has consistently spoken out against proposals like Prop 8 in California that would only hurt LGBT Americans," Inouye said. " Certainly our campaign -- and our country -- is open enough to allow people from all walks of life and ideologies to work together. We have many people who support Senator Obama but don't agree with all of his positions. But we all agree that Senator Obama will bring America the change we need."
All walks of life and ideologies? There is NO common ground, NONE, with anti-gay forces.
Honk if you didn't see this coming. Once again, teh gay is conveniently passed over in the name of political expediency. Oh, but don't worry about us. We're used to it. I am firmly committed to electing Barack Obama president this fall, but "more and better Democrats" applies to the Oval Office as well. Baby steps, right?