Popsmart: Not too little, not too late

Presient Barack Obama declared his support for same-sex marriage in an interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts on May 9, and public reaction, predictably, was a roller coaster between the positive and the negative.

While most religious conservatives, not surprisingly, condemned the president for trying to destroy the “sanctity” of marriage, liberals praised Obama’s stance.

Well, some liberals were happy, anyway. Others blasted Obama for support they saw as too little, too late—a calculated ploy for votes and not much else.

“It seems fairly clear … that [President Obama’s] announcement amounts to much less than meets the eye. He now believes that gay couples should be able to marry,” one Gawker writer griped. “He doesn’t believe they have a right to do so. This is like saying that black children and white children ought to attend the same schools, but if the people of Alabama reject that notion—what are you gonna do?”

Similarly, Rob Tish, a same-sex-marriage advocate and founder of the Waking Up Now blog, said Obama was just as bad as those fighting to “defend” marriage.

“Obama supports same-sex marriage, but he sees no Constitutional mandate,” Tish wrote. “When it comes to this groundbreaking case, Barack Obama … is on the side of the National Organization for Marriage.”

OK. Sure. Duly noted.

On the one hand, such criticisms are valid and fair. Yes, it’s taken Obama an excruciatingly long time, after years of artfully dancing around the subject, to take a defined stance, at least philosophically speaking.

On the other hand, we’re gearing up for an election season in which Obama will square off against presumable Republican candidate Mitt Romney, a staunch religious conservative who strongly opposes same-sex marriage.

Romney’s anti-gay sentiments, in fact, run deep: Just last week we learned that in 1965, while Romney was a high-school senior, the future presidential candidate reportedly pinned down and cut off the hair of a classmate he thought looked gay.

Youthful indiscretion? Perhaps. On May 12, however, Romney gave the commencement speech at Virginia’s Liberty University. The college, for those not familiar with it, is a fundamental Christian school founded by Jerry Falwell—the religious leader who once blamed the attacks of 9/11 on, among other sinners and hedonists, gays and lesbians.

Kind of sets the tone, don’t you think? Certainly, it highlights the stark contrast between the two candidates.

Does Obama have a stellar record when it comes to standing up for gay rights? No.

But has he made progress during his time in office? Has he brought about significant change? Has he had an impact? Yes.

In 2008, during Obama’s first election campaign, he promised to overturn “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the policy that kept gay and lesbian military personnel backed into the closet for fear of losing of their posts.

It took two more years—until the end of 2010, to be exact—for Obama to officially make good on that pledge. But the point is he did, and real change occurred.

Obama has yet to make any promises regarding same-sex marriage, so now is the time to stop complaining that his declaration of support is long overdue. Instead, apply pressure and push the president for details, push him into action.

Make sure the issue remains front and center during the 2012 election process. Don’t let it drop out of the national conversation. Don’t ever stop demanding that the president recognize that all American citizens deserve equal civil rights.

Don’t ever let it go.