Gay rights and marriage equity

The Responsible Community blog is working through the blog’s position on issues important to an equable community and comparing them to the presidential candidate positions and their respective parties.  Abortion and gun control have been reviewed in the last couple of days. 

Today’s issues are gay rights and marriage equity.  As I have asked in most every post about gay rights and marriage equality, where is the harm?

Government is tasked to protect its citizens.  That means making murder, stealing, assault and other actions like them illegal.  All those listed as well as many more not listed and the variants of each, hurt people in some way.  It can’t be shown in any way how being gay hurts anyone. 

To make it illegal for a same sex couple to get married is placing their action in the same category as those that commit one of the other crimes listed above.  There is absolutely no rationalization for it. 

Governor Romney has stated very clearly that he will not support gay marriage.  Members of the party he belongs to have tried for many years to pass a constitutional amendment that would prevent states from enacting laws that would permit marriage equity.  The party also, in the house and the senate teamed with a republican president, passed the Defense of Marriage Act (odd name for legislation that restricted marriage instead of expanding the rights of marriage to more citizens).  The courts have struck down the act, but those in supported of the act are fighting it to keep on the books.  It is believed that Romney working with his party would set back the quest for gay rights and marriage equity many years.

Obama on the other hand has come out in support of gay rights and supports marriage equity, although he said he would leave it to the states.  When the Defense of Marriage Act was declared unconstitutional by the courts, he refused to defend it, an action that let the court’s decision stand.  The house, controlled by Republicans, is now taken up arms in defense of the act. 

For gay rights and marriage equity, Obama receives the Responsible Community’s support.

Abortion should remain legal and safe

Of all the hot issues, none is more deeply passionate to people than abortion.  But, just because of the heat, it can’t be ignored. 

Abortion should remain legal and safe in America. 

In the perfect world, as I wrote in, “Body autonomy, at the core of abortion rights,” in January of this year, everyone’s rights would be given the same weight.  The reality is that it can’t be done. 

The primary focus on all rights is the concept of body autonomy.  What happens to your body is in your control.  Government and society can’t force someone to work for someone else without their permission.  To force a woman to carry to term would mean that we are assigning second class rights to a large portion of society. 

Lately, many senatorial candidates from the right have said some very strange things about abortion, pregnancy, rape and incest.  The Republican Party believes that abortion should not be allowed in almost all cases, if not all.  For the life of me, I can’t understand saying abortion is wrong, but making allowances for rape and incest.  How far is the step in logic to support abortion for rape and incest but not for failure of medication or a simple mistake?

Romney has been all over the board on the issue.  While Governor he supported a woman’s right to make the choice.  Then, he didn’t think it should be allowed in any circumstances.  Now, he is coming back to the middle.  His party, the Republicans, as stated above, is against a woman’s right to choose.  If Romney was elected president, he would be hard pressed to move against the Republican Party and his own campaign statements.

Obama on the other hand is pro-choice.  He has not waived.

Obama receives the nod for his support of body autonomy.