I believe that today I have read the clear and indisputable proof that marriage equality will become a reality in this country during the Obama presidency. And the reason is not because Obama is going to propose a change in the law. Today I saw the clear sign that the debate has shifted and that Obama had everything to do with that shift.
Bob Barr, former presidential candidate for the Libertarian party, wrote the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, in 1996, when he was a Republican representative in the House. Yesterday he published a letter in the LA Times in which he argues for the repeal of DOMA.
Bob Barr is a libertarian who wants to limit government, the federal government most particularly. DOMA, in his view limits the states and limits the constitution’s “full faith and credit” clause. States recognize each others’ marriages on the basis of this clause. They recognize Nevada’s marriages as well as those of Florida. DOMA prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriages and this, in the view of Barr, is an infringement of states' rights.
He is clear that he doesn’t propose to repeal DOMA in order to give more rights to LGBT people. But neither do I detect in his letter any regret that such a repeal would likely make marriage equality a reality. His principle holds that states should decide...
It is hard to swallow the news that Pastor Rick Warren will give the invocation at Obama's inauguration. I find it hard to see anything but a cynical political ploy that deliberately insults LGBT people to show the country that Obama is not a pandering politician. President Obama wants to show that he is America's president and can build bridges across old divides in this country. 
