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“I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage” - Barack Obama, 2008
The same Barack Obama that helped achieve the following during his time as President of the United States:
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act adding perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability to the existing hate crime law.
Lifted the ban on travel to the United States by those infected with HIV
Signed into law the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
Under his presidency, the Pentagon ended the policy that barred transgender people from serving openly in the military.
I was certainly disappointed when I heard him say what he said, but I also could read between the lines. I was disappointed it took him so long to finally become a vocal advocate of marriage equality (thank you Joe Biden for opening your big mouth, I mean this sincerely), but I none-the-less voted for him and in the end I am so glad he was in that office instead of McCain or Romney.
Can we please not fall for the bait. Look at not only their actions but also the situation they are in. Yes, Bill Clinton signed DOMA into law, but it also passed with veto-proof majorities, making a vote against it only performative. Yes, Clinton instituted Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, but this was a time when homophobia was absolutely ingrained throughout the US. My own parents said some pretty horrible things about queer people, and now they are (mostly) accepting of the multiple queer people we have in our family.
If you’re going to be upset at anyone, be upset at your family, friends and neighbors not doing shit (even I could be doing more). Supporting trans rights arguably is less risk to us than someone vying for political office who could end up extending protections for trans people. It took a wave of challenging conversations within families as well as increased positive visibility in the media (and arguably the passing on of a generation) to get to a situation where politicians could openly support any kind of queer family without facing immense backlash.
What good politicians do is say something that appeals to the masses, while dogwhistling support for the thing their constituency wants. I think generally dems have been doing this, but somehow "I think trans people absolutely need medically necessary care" is not clear enough, when almost every state has included gender affirming care as medically necessary.