Not a Disagreement among Friends...
Filed by: Kate Kendell
December 20, 2008 4:00 PM
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/12/not_a_disagreement_among_friends.phpEven as we endured the passage of Prop 8 and three other anti-gay measures on November 4, we took comfort in the near end of the most treacherous administration in recent history and the historic election of a man who seemed to live and breathe a genuine commitment to equality, fair play, and political integrity. Many of us believed that the election of the first African-American President, in a nation with such a shameful and entrenched history of white supremacy and racism, signaled a greater commitment to, and appreciation of, the unmatched diversity and pluralism of this country. This hope cushioned the blow--we hurt, but we had reason to believe things would get better.
Now, six short weeks later, we have reason for worry. The invitation of Reverend Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Church in California, and a major proponent of Prop 8, to give the invocation at the inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama is a dispiriting early signal that our new President may not fully understand LGBT people's tenuous place in American life. Objections to the selection of Warren are being dismissed as a desire to shut out diverse voices and alternate points of view. But this is not an issue of simple disagreement. In the past weeks, Warren has said that legal recognition of same-sex couples is as serious a threat to family life as incest and pedophilia.
