Monday, October 12, 2009

National Coming Out Day



Since yesterday was National Coming Out Day in the United States, I decided it would be a good time to take a look at what President Obama's take is on the issue. Consequently, President Obama made a speech Saturday that expressed his views on equality for homosexuals and transgendered people. I, for one, was happy to hear that he takes the issue of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identification seriously.

Many politicians take the easy and cowardly path by avoiding this issue to appease the fundamentalist religious ilk that would be more than happy to continue living in the dark ages and oppressing those different from themselves. I think that President Obama clearly realizes that you can't be the land of the free and equality while still actively oppressing a group of people. Why can't other seemingly intelligent people comprehend this simple concept?

In the speech, President Obama made it clear that he would use the power of the Presidency to try and make change happen when it comes to this controversial issue. He went on to explain that he wants to pass an inclusive hate crime bill that will be named after Matthew Shepard, the University of Wyoming student slain because he was gay in 1998. The bill has already passed in the House and is expected to pass in the Senate. Likewise, he plans to address the shady "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" military policy that has only managed to be a hapless band-aid on the gays in the military issue.

Obviously, it will take time to truly make lasting change in the area of homosexual equality. Hatred and ignorance towards gays goes even farther back than racism. It is tangled in the very fabric of many societies across the world. Yet, this is one of the many steps in the fight for equality, and I hope President Obama stays courageous and follows it through to the end.

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