Oh, bama!

Okay - so I admit, I get really excited about people running for office - especially when they are saying the things that I feel in my heart, seem to be honest and trust-worthy, refuse to run campaigns because 'it's the way you have to do it to win', and when I get goose-bumps listening to them speak (because they know how to form a complete sentence). This will be my fourth presidential election that I have been allowed to participate in - and the first one where one of these candidates are at least on the primary ballot. I have been enthralled by Obama since his key-note speach at the Democratic national Convention almost 4 years ago. He came when I really needed him. I believe so strongly in America - the America founded on equal rights, the American founded as an escape from religious persecution, the America that has flourished because of it's welcomed diversity. I learned about this place all through my early education and books and songs and poetry and stories and fell in love . . . have not really lived there yet. Barack Obama was saying that he would bring that back. That equality was his mission, that love was his navigator. I jumped on that bandwagon. I registered for all the groups - I participated in discussion boards - I didn't miss a stump speech - I gave money and asked my friends to do the same - I joined the campaign. I learned as much as I could about this man, with each peice of information, every audio clip, the articles, the interviews . . . with each one, I was more enthralled. And then I heard his stance on gay marriage. And his argument for equality was broken over my head and shattered into peices. He believes in full civil unions - in giving same-sex couples all the rights that are denied to them today by the federal government (all 111 of them) - he believes that we should treat all citizens equally . . . but that we should let churches decide if they should call it a marriage or not. It's still a civil union - unless recognized as a 'marriage' by the church, but it would be recognized as such only by that church - not the federal government - and the heterosexual couples still get to be 'married' no matter if they are married in a United Church of Christ or in a renovated Taco Bell by an Elvis impersonator with a 10-day temporary license. I'm sorry - doesn't seem so equal to me.
I received a bulk email through one of my list serves from the campaign asking me to celebrate equality with Michelle, Barack's wife, as she did something or other for women's rights. I wrote back and let him know that I can't celebrate equality with a man who only celebrates it for some . . . the campaign team sent me this back:


Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting Senator Barack Obama and Obama for America with your
thoughts on LGBT rights. We appreciate hearing from you.

Senator Obama supports economic, social, and legal rights for gays and lesbians.
He supports full civil unions, expanding hate crimes statutes, fighting
discrimination at work and in housing and other places of public accommodation,
and wants to increase adoption rights. He opposes any Constitutional ban on gay
marriage, opposes the Defense of Marriage Act, and opposes the current “Don’t
ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military, which weakens us in a time of
global challenges.

Barack is a global leader in the fight against AIDS. He traveled to Kenya and
took a public HIV test to encourage testing and reduce the stigma of the
disease. In late 2006, Barack Obama worked to reauthorize the Ryan White CARE
Act, one of the largest sources of federal funds for primary health care and
support services for patients with HIV/AIDS.

Senator Obama has consistently supported LGBT rights, and will continue to work
for an open, tolerant society where people of all sexual orientations are
protected and their contributions are valued. Thank you again for writing.


Sincerely,

Obama for America



I'm just glad Kucinich is still in the race . . . I will have someone to vote for that sees equality as a foundational principle - not just for his campaign - but for his life and his persuit of a better America and a better world.