In a surprise move on May 9, President Obama finally affirmed his support, at least in words if not actions, for marriage equality for same-sex couples. In a quickly arranged television interview, Obama reversed his long-held stance against civil rights for same-sex couples. “I’ve always been adamant,” he stated, “that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally… At a certain point, I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”
It is first important to note that, while speaking “personally” about his new opinion, the president made it clear that he thinks that each state should determine policy on the issue. Rather than call for federal legislation guaranteeing the right of same-sex couples to marry, or issue an executive order, Obama is actually supporting the status quo of continued discrimination.
We need to put the current statements from Obama on same-sex marriage into context by looking at his record regarding the highly financed and bigoted state ballot measures banning marriage between same-sex couples. From Prop 8 in California to the recent ballot measure to amend the constitution of North Carolina to ban not only marriage rights but also civil unions, the president has stood on the side and not involved himself in combating such vicious and hateful bigotry.
A look at history also makes it clear that any call for “states’ rights” is a disguised way to turn a blind eye to reality. In the struggle against racism and for civil rights for Black people, violent arch-racists such as Bull Connor and George Wallace, two hate-mongers among scores of racist politicians, used “states’ rights” to justify their extreme racism.
There is no doubt that the same holds true in the current struggle for marriage equality. Federal legislation outlawing discrimination against LGBT people, and the right to same-sex marriage, are the next necessary steps in the struggle for true equality. It is outrageous that the Obama administration feels that a fight for these is simply “too much, too soon.” Rather than launching a struggle, Obama is hiding behind “states’ rights” and not standing up to the issues of the day. That is why the fight for equality has to stay independent and in the streets and not get sucked into the current election cycle.
Nonetheless, in the context of the decades-long struggle for LGBT rights, which burst out of the closet at the Stonewall uprising in 1969, it is a victory for the marriage equality movement that the president of the U.S. has announced that he supports the right of same-sex couples to marry. This highly publicized statement will help fuel more resistance against the entrenched reactionaries who seek to push the LGBT movement back.
Militant actions in North Carolina following the passage of a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage illustrate that the movement is still in a fighting mode. Nine same-sex couples, in a bold act of defiance and civil disobedience right after the reactionary vote, applied for marriage licenses at a government office. One lesbian, who came to apply for a license with her life-partner, was arrested.
What’s behind the announcement?
Obama’s cagey move to co-opt and mobilize voters in November should spark more protests in the streets against bigoted election referendums and the purveyors of hate speech against LGBT people.
On the one hand, forcing the hand of Obama, the manager of the affairs of the capitalist class, is a victory for progressives. On the other hand, to have a U.S. president come out for gay marriage while presiding over endless genocidal imperialist wars, occupations and war crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan and elsewhere, and attacking the rights of immigrants and workers at home, illustrates a glaring contradiction of the way the capitalists rule in their thirst for profits.
In reality, the sole reason for Obama’s new position, however weak, towards marriage equality, is the growth of the independent popular movement for basic civil rights for LGBT people, which, since the onset of the struggle, has affected the opinions of millions of workers.
The degree of change in social attitudes evinced by Obama’s announcement is comparable to the election of Obama himself,which broke centuries of the highest office being held by wealthy Northern European white males. Obama’s election was undeniably a major historic moment. It came about because of the struggle against racism that for more than a century fought and made heroic sacrifices to defeat the forces of Klan violence, discrimination, and white supremacy
The struggle by Black people and their allies could not be stopped.
Finally, in 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the historic Voting Rights Act, which is a major milestone in the ongoing struggle against racism.
Just as the Obama administration is now maneuvering to seize and co-opt the movement, Johnson and his administration worked hard to steal the glory. At the same time, just as Obama continues to wage imperialist war against people all over the world, Johnson was waging a criminal and bloody war against the people of Vietnam.
For a U.S. president to endorse marriage equality speaks volumes of the strength of the LGBT movement, the rapid change in public opinion in favor of equal marriage rights, and the way the capitalist rulers finesse these changes.
Historic victories result from struggle
In 1979, at the historic first national march for lesbian and gay rights, not one member of Congress, Republican or Democrat, was willing to speak in favor of civil rights for LGBT people.
When movements for democratic rights begin, they are ignored and derided by the capitalist ruling class. When they grow large and powerful, the rulers try to orchestrate and co-opt the very movements they have repressed throughout the course of the struggle.
To help Obama win re-election, the Democrats will attempt to garner all the energy, strength and power of the street-based movement that has led to this historic sea-change in the struggle for LGBT equality.
The lessons of history show that only a united people fighting together can overcome the evils of capitalism whether it be anti-gay or sexist oppression, racism, or imperialist war.
