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 on marriage, and as a true libertarian, he places no value judgement on the private lives of those who will be affected by such a change.
What truly caught my attention in this letter is the manner in which Barr quotes President-Elect Obama:
In 2006, when then-Sen. Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment, he said, "Decisions about marriage should be left to the states." He was right then; and as I have come to realize, he is right now in concluding that DOMA has to go.
I don't see any reason of expedience why Barr was compelled to publish this letter. He is not running for office right now, and he is likely to make many enemies among republicans. Yet he published this letter in the largest newspaper in California, the state where the struggle for marriage equality rages on. And he quotes Obama as the one who he agrees with on this issue. He surely knows the upcoming court decisions, the legal battles being waged right now.
I was appalled when I learned that Obama had asked Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration. That Rick Warren turns out the be a fan of Melissa Etheridge left me cold. But this letter, written by one of the strongest proponents of Clinton's impeachment, lets me to believe that this country is changing in the area of marriage rights, that there is a new tone in the debate, that cooler heads can prevail and that people can come to an understanding, even if they approach a topic from widely different points of view. And there is no doubt that President-Elect Obama has everything to do with this change.
A repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act will certainly be the beginning of the end in the struggle for Marriage Equality. And perhaps it will take a former republican prosecutor of President Clinton, later Presidential candidate for the Libertarian party, together with a professed opponent of marriage equality, President-Elect Obama, to create the circumstances in which marriage equality will become a reality. If inviting Pastor Rick Warren is part of the changing climate that makes this a possibility, than I will welcome his invocation and greet it with hope.
It took someone with a greater mind than mine to create this change, but even before the inauguration, I see how Obama has changed this country and among the many important changes we will see, marriage equality will be achieved on his watch.
Update
Today I read a blog post at the site of the Human Rights Campaign. They were surprised too. And what is their comment:
Maybe someone there has finally talked some sense into that man....
Wow, that is insightful and deep. I am astounded by the comment from the nation's largest LGBT rights organization. Glad to know they are making the best of this political development.
