President Obama did not mince words on Sunday, telling a LGBT Democratic fundraiser in New York that religious liberty isn’t an excuse for denying Americans their constitutional rights. He also took aim at the field of GOP candidates who are seeking his job for their views on LGBT rights.
In his remarks, Obama knocked Republicans for opposing not only equal marriage rights, but for not recognizing that the conversation has moved on, arguing that “America has left the leaders of the Republican Party behind,” according to The Huffington Post.
“We need to reject politicians who are supporting new forms of discrimination as a way to scare up votes,” the president said. “That’s not how we move America forward.”
Obama also dismissed various Republican candidates’ stances on LGBT issues as out-of-touch, attempting to paint them as extremists. In particular, he appeared to take aim at pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who made remarks suggesting that situational homosexuality in prison is proof that being gay is a choice. Other targets of his remarks appeared to be Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.).
“One of their leading candidates argued that going to prison turns you gay,” Obama said. “I’m just stating the facts. Another candidate boasts that he introduced an amendment to end nationwide marriage equality — which isn’t even an accomplishment at all. A third said Americans should just disobey the Supreme Court’s ruling entirely. I’m sure he loves the Constitution — except for Article III. And maybe the Equal Protection Amendment. And the 14th Amendment, generally.”
But even though he acknowledged that some parts of the country are still uncomfortable with same-sex marriage and that a change in attitudes may not be coming in the near future, the president outright rejected the idea that freedom of religion somehow excuses people who wish to discriminate against LGBT people.
“We affirm that we cherish our religious freedom and are profoundly respectful of religious traditions,” Obama said. “But we also have to say clearly that our religious freedom doesn’t grant us the freedom to deny our fellow Americans their constitutional rights.”
Obama then recounted the various victories achieved for the LGBT community under his administration, including hate crimes protections, the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that banned openly gay servicemembers from serving, and an executive order banning anti-LGBT discrimination in government employment and in federal contracting.
“We live in an America where a growing share of older generations recognize that love is love, and younger generations don’t even know what all the fuss was about,” the president said. “And tonight, thanks to the unbending sense of justice passed down through generations of citizens who never gave up hope that we could bring this country closer to our founding ideals — that all of us are created equal — we now live in America where our marriages are equal as well.”
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace once cast herself as an LGBTQ-friendly Republican. She has since become one of Congress’s loudest opponents of transgender rights -- and is now echoing a familiar refrain used by opponents of same-sex marriage on social media.
"Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve," wrote Mace on X, repeating a long-used slogan that mocks same-sex relationships as “abnormal” and frames homosexuality as contrary to the Bible. The South Carolina congresswoman is currently running for governor.
A community note soon appeared under Mace’s post, pointing out that she voted twice for the Respect for Marriage Act -- once during its initial passage, and again when the House approved the Senate’s version. The 2022 law requires both federal and state governments to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where they’re legal.
On Monday, November 10, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected former Kentucky county clerk and same-sex marriage opponent Kim Davis' appeal of a lower court's decision against her -- including a petition demanding that the court revisit and overturn its landmark ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
The nation's highest court denied a writ of certiorari, which would have signaled its intention to review Davis' case -- and the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodgesdecision, which struck down state-level bans on same-sex marriage. It would have taken four justices to agree to hear Davis' challenge.
David Urban, a Republican strategist and CNN commentator who served as a senior advisor to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, has written an op-ed accusing Democrats of fear-mongering for suggesting that the U.S. Supreme Court might overturn its 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalizing same-sex marriage.
In his USA Today op-ed, Urban accuses "hyperpartisan liberals" of trying to "sow fear and discontent" by suggesting that the Supreme Court could reverse its own precedent and strike down the 2015 ruling -- a move that would immediately reinstate same-sex marriage bans still on the books in 32 states.
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