Gay rights after the first one hundred days of the Obama Presidency.

Gay rights after the first one hundred days of the Obama Presidency.
By Carlos T Mock, MD
May 7, 2009

We are not equal, we are still second class citizens!

While Same sex marriage received a strong dose of positive change this week, we’ve yet to hear from Mr. Obama. He is still on the record that marriage is between one man and one woman.

Here's where things stand nationally

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
Maine, Vermont, Iowa, Connecticut and Massachusetts, California briefly allowed gay marriage last year, but a voter initiative in November repealed it.

CIVIL UNIONS
New Hampshire and New Jersey, same-sex couples can enter into civil unions that entail the same rights and responsibilities as marriage. New Hampshire's waiting for its governor to sign into law same sex marriage, as the measure cleared both houses. New Jersey, Gov. Jon Corzine has pledged to sign a gay marriage bill that has been introduced in its legislature. New York’s governor, David Paterson, introduced legislation fpor same sex marriage in the state’s legislature. Illinois has a cicils union bill working its way in the legislature.

DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS
California, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia have domestic-partnership laws that extend many of the benefits of marriage to same-sex couples.

CONSTITUTIONAL BANS
29 states have approved state constitutional amendments that ban gay marriage: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Hawaii

FEDERAL RECOGNITION
Under the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the U.S. government does not recognize same-sex unions, even those that are legal marriages in Massachusetts, Connecticut and several foreign countries.

OUT-OF-STATE RECOGNITION
New York recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere but hasn't allowed them in the state. The District of Columbia Council recognizes gay marriages performed in other states.

We must all fight our fights: these next four years need to be when the rights of GLBTs become as inalienable as anyone else’s. When our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness are as indisputable as anyone else’s.

Whether we have access to the cultural and economic advantages of marriage should not be up for debate. Whether we can be fired from our jobs, lose our kids or be thrown out of our apartments should not be up for debate. Whether we can serve openly and proudly in the armed forces should not be up for debate.

The time has come for our President to enforce The Bill of Rights’ Fourteenth Amendment: ”All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” to be applied to every citizen in spite of their sexual or gender orientation.

Carlos Mock, MD has published three books and is the Floricanto Press editor for its GLBT series. He was inducted in the Chicago Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame in October of 2007. He grew up middle-class in the suburbs of San Juan, Puerto Rico. His website is: www.carlostmock.com
posted by carlos t mock at 3:01 am