If Gordon Brown Can Condemn Prop 8, Why Can't Barack Obama?

by Michael Jones · 2009-03-06 12:32:00 UTC
Topics:

Gordon Brown Barack Obama

Yesterday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown delivered a scathing attack on Proposition 8, calling it "unacceptable," and saying that it reflected homophobic and discriminatory behavior by society.

These are obviously great comments, coming from one of the most prominent elected officials in the free world.  But after reading them, I'm left disappointed.

Why?

Because the leader of our own country - Barack Obama - hasn't mustered the political courage to say the same thing. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, Barack Obama hasn't even mentioned the words "Proposition 8" since the weekend before the election.

Here's what Brown said yesterday, after the hearings on Proposition 8 (courtesy of Towleroad):

I was in America yesterday and I know you will be sorry I didn't bring Barack Obama back. He is coming soon. But what I saw in America told me what we have to do. This Proposition 8, this attempt to undo the good that has been done. This attempt to create divorces among 18,000 people who were perfectly legally brought together in partnerships, this is unacceptable and shows me why we always have to be vigilant, why we have always got to fight homophobic behaviour and any form of discrimination.

Maybe Obama didn't think it was his place to offer input on a hearing not before a federal court.  That seems shady to me, but OK.  Still, someone should ask Obama what he thinks about the civil unions legislation that cleared a committee in the Illinois House of Representatives yesterday.  His silence on LGBT issues is a little too damn deafening.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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