It’s official. President Barack Obama supports same-sex marriage. He said so, in his own words, on Wednesday afternoon at the White House in an interview with ABC correspondent Robin Roberts.
The historic announcement (which by the way, changes nothing for gays and lesbians struggling for recognition of relationships at the federal level or any of the states with discriminatory “marriage bans”) tweeted by our first social media President may have set a Twitter record as the most retweeted tweet of all time. Watch this space for how social media, which played a huge role in the 2008 Presidential race may once again give one candidate the edge over the other.
The President’s announcement came less than 18 hours after North Carolina enshrined discrimination into its constitution with the passage of Amendment One. The state had never recognized same-sex marriages, but just to be sure there were no loopholes, the nasty amendment now prohibits the state from recognizing any type of relationship or family other than one between a legally married man and woman. That’s right – even straight couples who choose to live together without tying the knot will now find their rights severely curtailed.
Plenty of folks have weighed in on every aspect of the battle for marriage equality. Many say that it will be the millennial generation that will lead us to a country where no one is discriminated against. Thinking of that day in the not-too-distant future warms our heart, until we read a blog post by the country’s most famous unwed teen (now a 20-something), Bristol Palin. The daughter of controversial 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin took Obama to task in a blog post criticizing his position on marriage, particularly the part where he credits his daughters, millennials Malia and Sasha, for helping him “evolve”. Oh well, Bristol. Malia and Sasha will soon be able to cancel out your vote, and then some.
Kathy Drasky regularly writes about online culture. Her marketing and communications work with the ANZA Technology Network, Advance Global Australians and with various Australians and Australian enterprises has led to at least a dozen trips Down Under.
An accomplished digital photographer, her photos have appeared in 7×7 Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle and Google Schmap.
