Perspectives on Same-Sex Marriage

I believe that President Obama is consistent on his stance for equal rights and equal opportunities for any person living in the United States. The only reason President Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment was because of his own personal religious reasons. Even with his personal reasons Obama feels that homosexuals should be guaranteed the same rights and benefits that come with marriage such as equal health insurance, retirement benefits, survivor benefits, and lump-sum death benefits. Obama doesn’t feel that homosexuals should be treated any differently than anyone else in the United States. An example that he strongly believes in this idea was shown when he ordered an ending to the ban on gays serving openly in the military. Even though he his against same sex marriage on a federal level, he still wants to grant gay couples the same rights as straight couples.

Obama might respond to Nava and Dawidoff’s argument that prohibiting same sex marriage is a denial of basic rights by saying that he agrees on their stance because he recognizes that same sex couples are not getting basic rights that other couples receive. This is why Obama wants civil unions and equal rights for same sex couples.