Friday, April 16, 2010

Obama Helps Out Da Gays.

Ya'll know politics ain't my thang, but I am becoming more involved as a young person since every decision made by our politicians ultimately impacts my life.

Speaking of which,

President Barack Obama recently mandated that nearly all hospitals around the country extend visitation rights to the partners or gay peeps and respect patients' choices about who they want to make important health related decisions for them.

(photo found here)

If I could hug ya man, I would!

Find out more information by clicking on this link.

1 comment:

chelilektra said...

It's kind of eerie to me how uneasy these gains make me feel. To an extent, by granting 'partnered' gays various 'marital' entitlements, he's re-enforcing the "traditional" marriage movement's separate but equal claims.

The pro-gay marriage movement can no longer tell heart wrenching sob stories of being denied hospital visitation, and the marriage 'protectors' can stump more gays in their effort to define why exactly it is that they 'need' marriage. However, this totally falls in line with Obama's agenda as he's held the party line against gay marriage in favor of strengthened civil unions. However, I ultimately believe that this gain is a gain and the flaw is ultimately with the gay marriage movement's strategy of defining marriage as a necessity.

Partnered couples could be granted each and every right afforded married couples and the issue would still stand as it is less about an equal right to the institution of marriage and more about protection of an electoral minority. As Pam Karlan put it in Justice Blackmun's dissent to Bowers v. Hardwick:

"The Constitution cannot control such prejudices, but neither can it tolerate them. Private biases may be outside the reach of the law, but the law cannot, directly or indirectly, give them effect."

In a protective definition of marriage as between a man and a woman, the law indirectly yet effectively empowers the prejudice of the majority. That said, said discussion is worthy of a blog of it's own.

Ultimately, my point here is that while I appreciate this step forward, a repeal of DOMA would be infinitely more meaningful and no quantity of marital rights afforded partner couples will negate the need for said change.