PHOTO: Getty
President Barack Obama has taken a number of hits for his so-called "evolving" position on marriage equality. But the President has the "right" to make up his mind in his "own time", writes Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry in an op-ed at the Boston Globe.
Pundits ask whether President Obama can afford to “change’’ his position on gay marriage. It’s a phony debate about a real issue. Marriage is deeply personal - our positions are based on unique combinations of reason, belief, and experience, not polling and politics. Everyone is entitled to his own view, in his own time, including the president.
Last March, when the Boston Globe asked if I supported marriage equality I answered yes. But in light of the increased discussion after passage of New York’s law, more is required than a simple “yes.’’ We cannot afford to be imprisoned by politics that say your views are not allowed to grow as you gain knowledge and experience. There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging you’ve changed your mind when your views have evolved. Don’t we pride ourselves on learning by living? Muhammad Ali, said it best: “The man who views the world at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.’’
Massachusetts became the first state to mandate marriage equality in a May 2004 court order. Kerry was running for the Democratic presidential nomination at the time—he ultimately won the nomination—and did not support same sex marriage until years later.
Kerry is correct in that politicians are "entitled"—poor word choice, btw—to "make up their own minds in their own time." But it's insulting to suggest "polling and politics" have nothing to do with the decision.
It's likely politics keeping Obama from supporting gay marriage and leaving it to the states for now.
Obama has shown his support for the gays. If fence sitting for the short term helps him get re-elected over an anti-gay candidate, I think that's a stance I can accept.
I pray Obama sees the light and evolves to supporting gay marriage in the US, even if it takes a couple of years for him to get there.
Posted by: fff | 10 July 2011 at 16:37
Oh,I wonder if Obama has ever been evolving on civil rights or freedoms for any other minority groups. His position is purely political and based on what is good for him. In a poll when he was younger, he voted for Gay Marriage. Now he is evolving. Another self-serving, hypocritical politician. On this topic I am very critical of President Obama, but I voted for him and will vote for him again. In many ways he is a wonderful President.
Posted by: Jerry | 11 July 2011 at 07:00
As an African with family in America, I always told myself that I would not bother to ever post on a blog about anything. Frankly I always found myself miserable around most of the gay folks I meet when I am there. The whole mean snarky attitude just puts me off. But I have to admire their tenacity when fighting for basic rights. I am gay and a complete lover of Obama, but his stance on marriage leaves me sad. Turning a group of people into a political bargaining chip is sad and desperate. He will always be one of my heroes, but once again he just reinforces my double minority loner status.
Posted by: Marcus Flemister | 11 July 2011 at 07:43
"But it's insulting to suggest "polling and politics" have nothing to do with the decision."
True dat. I zeroed in on the same sentence.
With me, it's not even so much his stance of the marriage issue...it's the way he addresses the marriage issue ("gawd in the mix," states rights) that I don't like.
Posted by: Chitown Kev | 11 July 2011 at 10:36