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Wednesday, Oct 08, 2008
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| A Queer note to Barack Obama | ||
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by Beau Burriola -
SGN Foreign Correspondent Dear Barack: I am a Gay man and I've got a question for you. Like many Gay folks, I've been tempted to jump on board with your campaign. I've been seduced by the talk of equality and fairness, perhaps because of the way my ears, as a Gay man, are trained to hear those words. I've seen the stir you've created the last few months and I've heard - at dinner tables and in living rooms around my Queer community - talk of your change. But you see, I'm having some trouble trying to find out what you believe about the Lesbian and Gay community and I find myself questioning how hard you will fight for my equality. I've found myself having to look harder than I imagined to find out what protection for Gay folks means to you. Your website, while listing support for a host of issues from "sportsman" gun rights to "creative arts," says nothing at all about equality, Gay rights, the injustice of "Don't Ask Don't Tell," civil unions, or anything besides words like "equality," which only hint at what you stand for. Even in the deepest parts of smaller paragraphs on the Barack website dealing with "additional issues," you seem to omit any mention of equality as it matters to the Gay community. Your entire civil rights page deals only with race. Your talk of expanding hate crimes protections deals only with race. Some of your remarks about our community the last few years have made me hesitate. You've said things like "the Gay rights movement is somewhat like the civil rights movement," "Let each denomination decide on recognizing Gay marriage," and "I oppose Gay marriage; I support Gay equality." To me, that sounds half-hearted, half-committed, in-between. So, Barack, level with me. I and millions of Gay people would like to believe in you and what you can do to make sure equality means everyone, but before I leap onto the Obama Hope Bandwagon, tell me: Why is it that the unequivocal support for equal protection for Gay folks - one of the biggest issues of the last couple of presidential elections - is not clearly listed right up there will all your other issues? How can you talk about every other issue but that one? While your talk of doing away with the "politics of fear" inspires me, I also feel like you've omitted us because of a fear of politics. More cynical observers might imagine that you're playing it safe by not upsetting the apple cart with too much talk of equality. More cynical observers might look at your omission of Gay people from the discussion of equality as a way to keep it vague enough to sound pleasant without having to define what it means; speaking to us with words we are used to hearing without telling us what you mean. But I don't want to be cynical! I want to believe that when you talk about equality, you mean it for everyone. If I look at the Hillary Clinton website, with its clear and immediately visible "Fighting for the LGBT Community" page listing clear goals for ensuring Gay folks are including in equality, I can't help but wonder why you aren't willing to do the same. So, Senator, if you really do believe in equality for Gay people, if you believe in doing away with the injustice of "Don't Ask Don't Tell," if you believe in expanding hate crimes legislation to protect Gay folks, if you believe in ensuring our families are treated equally in every way, then include us in your campaign. Include us when you talk of civil rights. Include us when you talk about issues. Include us when you talk about equality. At the very least, include us somewhere in your list of issues. And when you do, I'll be ready to jump on completely. With no more reservations, I believe I could join the movement for change & but only if I feel like all the types of equality you talk about are equally mentioned. Beau Burriola is a Queer writer who still believes in the ultimate goal of equality for Gay folks. beaubrent@gmail.com |
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visit Beau at www.beaubrent.com
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