I listen to Sirius OutQ Radio Show in the mornings. It’s a gay radio station on Sirius (obviously) and the host, Larry Flick is a very intelligent, openly gay radio host and has a great show I might add. Now, I’m not gay, but I like the show so much that I listen every morning. I’m also very pro-rights for gays and other members of society that are trying to gain certain rights.
But today he was talking about how both presidential candidates were homophobic and one caller asked him about Barrack Obama and why he thought he was homophobic, so Larry says hold on and plays a clip of Barrack Obama stating, “I believe marriage is between a man and a woman.” Then Larry proceeded to ask the caller if he thought that was a homophobic comment. The caller said, “well, no not really.” Then Larry angrily said, “well, I feel bad for you, because it is very much so a homophobic comment, I’m a gay American and let me tell you, that is homophobic if I ever heard a comment yada yada yada…”
Is that comment homophobic? I personally don’t think it is, I believe it’s more of a personal issue based in religious/moral/background/what have you beliefs. Just because a person says they think it should be between a man and woman doesn’t mean they fear homosexuals at all.
Well, as I understand it, the argument is that the homosexuals who desire to marry their partners feel like they are being treated as second class citizens for not being allowed to.
Of course not. At it’s core, marriage is a personal (and often religious) statement of commitment two people. The fact that it’s tied up with a lot of legal jibber jabber is an unfortunate side effect of our society. And there’s no question that gay people should be allowed to have that kind of commitment in the eyes of the law.
If your personal beliefs mean you believe marriage is only between a man and a woman, well that’s OK, because the gay couple that would get married at the church down the street doesn’t need your approval. Which, incidently, is what Obama believes as well.
Yup. This is Obama’s biggest negative in my book. I’m guessing it’s more RR pandering, but that shit needs to stop. I wish someone would grow a pair and see this for what it is. Homophobic, anti-American, and wrong.
Homosexuals (and the Radio show host) will view the “traditional marriage” position as homophobic.
While I assume Obama does not hate gays, and didn’t mean no harm, they will view his stated position as hateful.
I don’t think it would be fair of me to tell homosexuals to grow thicker skin on this issue. They have a right to perceive this inequality however they please, IMO. We’re not talking about a disagreement over ice cream flavor preferences, here.
It’s not as much homophobic as possibly bigoted, as much as an opinion can be anyway. I think there are more people who believe what Barack said, than there are people who don’t, who would also make it an issue to vote on, plus, there’s no better choice in McCain, so…
My response to that claim is always: “Well, I believe that marriage is between a white man and a white woman, or between a black man and a black woman.”
It’s pretty clear how racist the parallel statement is. I suppose you can argue that “homophobe” and “racist” are not parallels, but I tend to think that they are.
Yep, absolutely a homophobic statement. He’s taking a position that gays should have fewer rights and privilidges under US law than heterosexuals. It’s hard to spin that as not being, to some degree, prejudiced against homosexuals. Of course, it would be political suicide for him to take any other position, so I’m not too worked up about it.
Thank you for the opportunity to welcome everyone to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club’s Pridc Breakfast and to congratulate you on continuing a legacy of success, stretching back thirty-six years. As one of the oldest and most influential LGBT organizations in the country, you have continually rallied to support Democratic candidates and causes, and have fought tirelessly to secure equal rights and opportunities for LGBT Americans in California and throughout the country.
As the Democratic nominee for President, I am proud to join with and support the LGBT community in an effort to set our nation on a course that recognizes LGBT Americans with full equality under the law. That is why I support extending fully equal rights and benefits to same sex couples under both state and federal law. That is why I support repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, and the passage of laws to protect LGBT Americans from hate crimes and employment discrimination. And that is why I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution, and similar efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution or those of other states.
For too long. issues of LGBT rights have been exploited by those seeking to divide us. It’s time to move beyond polarization and live up to our founding promise of equality by treating all our citizens with dignity and respect. This is no less than a core issue about who we are as Democrats and as Americans.
Finally, I want to congratulate all of you who have shown your love for each other by getting married these last few weeks. My thanks again to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club for allowing me to be a part of today’s celebration. I look forward to working with you in the coming months and years, and I wish you all continued success.
Yes, the sentiment is homophobic in that it implies a belief that same-sex partnerships are not as legitimate as hetero relationships. There is also a spectrum for homophoba, though. It’s not a binary question. You can be a little bit homophobic or a lot homophobic.
There is also a difference between sincere prejudice and pandering for votes. I honestly don’t believe that either Barack Obama nor John McCain really give a rat’s ass about same-sex marriage, but they both have to mouth the platitude that “marriage should be between a man and a woman,” while both also simultaneously say they support civil unions.
So while that statement represents a mildly homophobic pander, it’s really just political cover for a much more meaningful position in favor of gay rights.
Not wanting to move to San Francisco because of all the gays there: homophobic
Not wanting to extend equal rights to gays: bigoted
Not wanting to call a legal union that extends to gay couples all the rights of a married heterosexual couple “marriage”: sensible
Of course, this is a minority view here on these boards where many think that unless you adopt every position of homosexual activists you are a homophobe. Which just shows how willing the group is to degrade language.
I guess people who want to support Obama and gay marriage are just going to have to roll with it, unless you want a repeat of 2004. On the assumption that 50% of the electorate isn’t going to bother to vote, you don’t want to give potential nonvoters motivation to go to the polls because they want to vote against Obama and strike a blow for heterosexual marriage.
If you want it all, now, you make your guy unelectable.
Change that ‘sensible’ to ‘bigoted’ and I would mostly agree with you. (says one of the homosexual ‘activists’)
I agree that the term homophobia has been extended well beyond what the word means. That is to say, phobia = fear and many things labeled homophobia are not related to fear. Personally I would like a different word to use for those other things. I’m more than willing to entertain suggestions.
I think the idea is that treating homosexuals as second-class citizens is (often) seen as a bad thing, so the only ones who would do so are people who are anti-gay, which is what the broader meaning of “homophobe” now is.
