Actresses’ gay marriage push
A group of high-profile Americans have come together to urge President Barack Obama to support gay marriage. The group includes Martin Sheen, R&B singer Mya, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and a host of other celebrities, athletes and the like.The group has written an open letter to the president asking that he back the same-sex marriage issue and support the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community's efforts to have their relationships recognized by the legal system and the American public.
So far, the president has not pledged complete support for gay marriage. Instead, he supports civil unions as an alternative. He does, however, claim that his views are "evolving" on the matter. His administration has also taken the bold position of refusing to defend a federal law that bars the government from recognizing same-sex unions.
The group, Freedom to Marry, plans to deliver the signatures on the open letter to the White House this spring. This move promises to put even more pressure on President Obama, who many expect to govern from the center in order to maximize his chances for re-election in 2012.
The black community also has reason to be concerned, given that the president has yet to advocate for any policy that exclusively impacts black and brown people. For example, numerous black scholars, politicians and public figures have asked the Obama Administration to create targeted policies to deal with indisputable inequality in the unemployment rate and mass incarceration.
To date, the administration has given a deaf ear to the black community's specific needs, instead arguing that racial inequality will be indirectly addressed via a package of liberal agenda items.
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