Happy (Prop 8 Decision) Birthday, Mr. President!
Happy Birthday!
Today is your 49th birthday.
Not to upstage, you, but today is also an important day to a great many Americans.
In just a few short hours, Judge Vaughn Walker will make public his decision on Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the federal trial that will determine the constitutionality of California’s Prop 8. It is a momentous day — regardless of the outcome.
I’m sure Judge Walker did not intentionally pick your birthday to release his decision, Mr. President, and yet, I’m struck by the coincidence.
You see, as president, you have the power to do so much for so many. And if you’re like me, you spend at least part of your birthday every year reminiscing on the past, on the gifts you’ve received, not just from family and friends, but from fate.
You, sir, are a lucky man. The first African-American president (and a rather young one at that!) of the greatest county on earth. Of course, you’ve worked hard to get where you are.
But, so have so many other people. So many people from my community, the LGBTQ community, who have worked hard to get where we are, yet we are not afforded the very things you, by virtue of your birth as a heterosexual, are.
Perhaps because I long for my own, it’s made me sensitive to conversations of others, but recently, as I make my way about the city, I have heard several people talk about their upcoming weddings. And while they talk about their upcoming nuptuals with glee and excitement, they also make two things very clear. One, the simple frustration that I suppose would come with any big, life-changing event, and two, entitlement.
You see, Mr. President, as a heterosexual, you are entitled to get married. You are also entitled to serve in our armed forces, and you are entitled to 1138 federal benefits that I am not.
How is this equality, Mr. President?
How can you, our first black president, a man one year older than I, a man who surely has seen his fair share of discrimination and has had to fight through it to get where you are, how can you, sir, allow other minorities to go through similar and even worse treatment and circumstances?
Mr. President, on this, your forty-ninth birthday, please, as you are counting your blessings, as you are blowing out the candles on your cake, as you kiss your wife and daughters, as you go to sleep, please, sir, think about all the gay men and lesbians who so desperately want the same, basic thing you have: a family. A legally-recognized and protected family.
And, regardless of today’s Prop 8 decision, make a commitment that you’ll do a little better for us.
Thank you, and happy birthday.
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.