From ABC News: "The Obama administration said today it will sign on to a United Nations declaration calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality around the world."
I appreciate the gesture, but it's an empty one. Defending their support of the declaration, a State department official said that signing it "commits us to no legal obligations." In other words, people of California, Arkansas, or anywhere else where you should decide that homosexuality should become a government issue, this declaration is just a nice to-do that we really have no intention of supporting with progressive legislation.
That such a statement should even have to be made just proves that we still have a long way to go in this country when it comes to ensuring equal rights for all citizens.
I totally understand that the economy needs a-fixin' and there are two wars going on. The gays can (sort of) wait. But if you're going to make sweeping, international gestures claiming your commitment to human rights, then have some intention of following through. And I simply don't think the Obama administration is in a position to do that right now.
1 comment:
The economy or two wars are vey different issues than gay rights. Why should we have to wait at all? All that it would take to legalize gay marriage and equal rights in the US is a Yes vote. Doing the right thing isn't expensive or resource constraining. Also, the US should get out of the UN and focus on making life for the gays in the US better. Sure, there are other countries that persecute gays but there are also others that are far more progressive than the US. Let's clean up our act before we start telling the rest of the world what to do.
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