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Loading ...Prop 8 advocate to deliver Obama invocation
12.18.2008 8:34am EST
(Washington) Gay rights groups are voicing their opposition to the choice of Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at President-elect Barrack Obama’s inauguration.
Warren is the outspoken evangelical pastor of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. – one of the state’s largest megachurches.He was a major supporter of Proposition 8, the measure that amended the California constitution to ban same-sex marriage in the state.
“There is no need to change the universal, historical definition of marriage to appease 2 percent of our population,” he said during the Prop 8 campaign “This is not a political issue – it is a moral issue that God has spoken clearly about.”
When LGBT activists demonstrated at Saddleback following the passage of Prop 8, Warren accused gays of attempting to take away his constitutional right to practice religion.
During the presidential election campaign, Warren hosted a presidential forum with Obama and Sen. John McCain. Warren did not endorse either presidential candidate.
People For the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert said Warren should never have been selected to deliver Obama’s invocation because of his support for Prop 8.
“[T]his decision further elevates someone who has in recent weeks actively promoted legalized discrimination and denigrated the lives and relationships of millions of Americans,” said Kolbert in a statement.
Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese, in a letter to Obama, called for the invitation to Warren be rescinded.
“We have been moved by your calls to religious leaders to own up to the homophobia and racism that has stood in the way of combating HIV and AIDS in this country. And that you have publicly called on religious leaders to open their hearts to their LGBT family members, neighbors and friends,” Solmonese said in the letter to the President-elect.
“But in this case, we feel a deep level of disrespect when one of architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination. Only when Rev. Warren and others support basic legislative protections for LGBT Americans can we believe their claim that they are not four-square against our rights and dignity. In that light, we urge you to reconsider this announcement.”
During the election campaign, Obama drew the ire of gay groups for choosing gospel singer Donnie McClurkin to appear at rallies targeting evangelical Christians.
McClurkin is an ardent supporter of the so-called ex-gay movement and has called homosexuality a choice that can be cured.
When opposition to McClurkin surfaced, Obama distanced himself from the singer’s views, but did not remove him from campaign appearances.
Obama has appointed one openly gay person to his administration. He selected Nancy Sutley, a deputy mayor of Los Angeles, to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
On the issues, Obama supports repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the ban on gays serving openly in the military; passage of the Mathew Shepard hate crime bill; and an inclusionary ENDA. He opposes same-sex marriage, but believes gay and lesbian couples should have many of the rights of marriage and supports repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
As usual; as soon as someone is elected, they forget we exist!
See, this is what the ABQkevin’s of the world do for Obama. What part of “being nice and being patient has not gotten us as far as we should be 30 years after Milk.” didn’t you understand? As far as we should be is the statement, not “nothing has changed”. I got rather sick of dealing with that kind of spin on the message boards during his campaign. They seriously got p*ssed at me when I would post videos of things he actually said, when they claimed that he didn’t say them.
Any of you that think a letter writing campaign will make any difference are completely mistaken. The only thing that will matter is PROTESTING THE INAUGURATION. Stand together. Show signs of protest. Don’t go silently into the night. Let the TV cameras and the attendees in the mall in washington SEE US and realize we can NO LONGER BE IGNORED!!!!!
At least CNN is making sure that this insult is getting some air time
ABQkevin, I just don’t get your apologetic, it’s ok for Obama to do this trip.
This would be akin the NAACP ,inviting Jesse Helms to be honored for all his great achievements for the black community.
I wonder if Adolph Hitler would be invited to the opening of a Holocaust Memorial?
Your political reasoning is full of holes, it doesn’t hold water.
I don’t want to hear what Obama might be able to do for us, I know what he’s done, betrayed us!
You still don’t get it, all you have are his promises, the fact is he gave the spotlight to someone who oppresses us.
No more excuses, it’s more than an insult he’s given our community, it’s his priority of choice, to give an honor to someone who oppresses us.
Stop making excuses, we have been betrayed.
Hmmm. . .Thirty years after Milk and nothing has changed? Are you serious? We have more visibility and support than anyone could have dreamed possible in 1978. Anti-sodomy laws are gone. 20 states have passed nondiscrimination laws based on sexual orientation. 31 states have hate crimes laws that include us. Ten states provide legal recognition for our relationships, including two where same-sex marriage is legal.
Again, get a grip. Crying about the sky falling is not helpful.
All you Obama voters should be kicking yourselves — or maybe those of us who had a FRIGGIN CLUE should be doing it. How much more do you need to realize that OBAMA will do NOTHING for us??? Congrats on getting snowed and screwing the rest of us.
I spoke with the Human Rights Campaign this morning. They disagree with the choice of Rick Warren – but will not withdraw their support of the OutForEquality Inaugural Ball. There are several organizations co-sponsoring this event – none will receive any more contributions from me if they continue to be a co-sponsor.
That anyone could be so ignorant and so insensitive to the fact that the ROOT CAUSE of any=ti-gay sentiment COMES FROM RELIGION – speaks volumes about Obama’s own self-serving/opportunistic motives. “All-inclusive” my ass – would he feel the same way if the guy was a racist? Once again, GLBT people are mere voting fodder – but NO MORE! It’s time to get ANGRY, to hell with Obama, to hell with “GLBT Republicans” – we need REAL OPTIONS AND REAL CHANGES!
I’m rather sick of the ABQkevin’s of the world; constantly defending Obama. I’ll believe his ‘promises’ when I see them. He gets no slack in the meantime. In the meantime, being nice and being patient has not gotten us as far as we should be 30 years after Milk.
I urge everyone to post the link on their facebook and myspace, blogs etc.
go tell Barrack Obama what you think.
http://change.gov/page/content/contact/
Screw Obama. Big time.
I love the comment about don’t ask don’t tell. If Obama supposedly is going to try to get rid of that (I’ll believe it when I see it), but won’t support gay marriage in support of civil unions (another thing I’ll never bet on happening under his admin), if he does manage to get rid of don’t ask don’t tell, I wonder if they considered instituting a separate but equal enlistment for gays and lesbians, where they can serve openly, but never be promoted to officer status?
Good grief. From these posts, you’d think that Obama had suddenly become Jesse Helms. What a load of crap. Get a grip people.
Obama is a brilliant pragmatist more than anything. He is planning a number of bold, difficult policies for the gay community in the years ahead–including the hate crimes bill, nondiscrimination bill, repealing don’t ask don’t tell, repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, and passing a nationwide Civil Unions law. These are unbelievable difficult goals. His choice of Rick Warren to lead his invocation should be seen for what it is–a strategic attempt to placate the 40% of Americans who identify as born again Christians. They are a major political force and if we have any hope of getting our gay rights agenda passed through Congress, we can’t have the Rick Warrens of the world stirring up their constituents against us.
Remember the motto: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. For Christ’s sake, Obama picked FOUR former primary opponents to be in his administration. He’s the ultimate political strategist–thinking ahead to the future and how to get things done.
HILLARY 2012!
It’s really beyond the pall. Ironically this is exactly what Obama did when he won the election for law review president back in law school. He quietly gathered private support (never public) from intellectually fringe or marginalized voters as a committed leftist and then promptly screwed them over when he took office as a centrist. It was pretty heart-breaking. In the end his legacy was pretty much nothing more than the first black president of harvard law review.
He’s in this totally for himself. He self-branded as a change agent and anyhting he does is going to reflect that in theory but in practice it’s all more of the same. Except for the color of his skin. I feel like a sucker for voting for him…I wish I would have written in Hillary.
One final thought: It was bad enough that he showed no support or leadership of any kind during the world wide prop 8 demonstrations. He never even acknowledged them as the biggest issue facing gays and lesbians in years. To follow up with this is the biggest slap in the face I can imagine.