Lesbian media wiz
Ann Canas wants the Illinois senator
to know that when he references religion in discussing
why he can't support gay marriage, he sends
a subtle message that being gay and being
Christian are mutually exclusive.
Mr. Obama:
Like you, we are
all Americans. Like you, some of us are men. Unlike you,
some of us are women. Like you, some of us are
African-American. Unlike you, many of us are not
African-American. Like you, some of us are tall and
thin. Unlike you, some of us are short and wide. Like you,
some of us have spouses, families, and children.
Unlike you, some of us are still single. Like you, we
are Christians. Unlike you, we are gay and lesbian and
bisexual and transgender.
Your and Senator
Clinton’s voting and legislative records are for the
most part identical on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender issues and are generally supportive of
basic GLBT civil, social, and legal rights and
protections. Although both you and Senator Clinton decline
to support gay marriage per se, it is your
statements on this issue that seem alienating,
divisive, and uninformed and that subtly contribute to the
persistence of one of this country’s worst forms of
religious persecution and social bigotry. Even the
possibility that you and your platform -- wittingly or
unwittingly -- may contribute to the perpetuation of bigotry
and prejudice in any way against anyone is, to our
sensibilities, unthinkable.
While you are
careful to appear to uphold and defend the GLBT
community’s basic safety and legal rights, in a
March 25, 2007, Chicago Tribune story that
referenced comments you made during your 2004 run for
the U.S. Senate, you led off your objections to
gay marriage with the statement “I'm a
Christian” [see below for full context of
quote]. On its own as a part of your personal profile
or in answer to a query about your personal beliefs, this
statement is both appropriate and informative. But linked to
your objections about gay marriage and by extension
the gay lifestyle, it serves to entrench modern
attitudes of religion-based bigotry and persecution
and effectively implies that “gay” and
“Christian” are mutually exclusive. This
is not only wrong and uninformed but also flies in the
face of the most basic Christian values and beliefs of
unconditional love and acceptance. There are over 500,000
GLBT Christians attending over 200 churches like my
church, Metropolitan Community Church Los Angeles, as
well as hundreds of similar open and affirming churches
all over America and around the world. We do not believe
that you or anyone in thought, word, belief, or action
can separate us from our religion, our faith, and our
rightful place within the heart and love of Jesus
Christ.
And while we
recognize the sensibilities of many of our fellow Americans
concerning the traditional configuration of the institution
of marriage, our loving and lifetime commitments to
our partners, our families, and our children cannot be
diminished in heart and spirit and are fully as
valuable and sacred as your own. Regardless of convention
and interpretation of the word marriage, your
brave new American Dream must embrace us and our loved ones
as sincerely and unconditionally as you have extended
it to all other segments of our society.
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Ann Canas is a freelance writer, producer, actor,
and media host in Los Angeles (www.anncanas.com). She and her
partner are members of the Metropolitan Community Church
Los Angeles (www.mccla.org).