In light of the Left's outcry against the asking of Rick Warren to give the inaugural invocation, the Obama Inauguration Committee today announced that
Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson, the openly gay Episcopal priest, will give the invocation at the opening inaugural event.
According to Politico - quoting and anonymous Obama source - this selection apparently preceded the Warren announcement and was not a reaction to the public backlash. Hmmm. Really?? This, however, should teach us patience towards Obama, as this does underscore Obama's positive commitment to GLBT issues.
On a tangential note, Ken Blackwell, vying for the Chair of the RNC, believes that
homosexuality is a compulsion that can be restrained.
"You can choose to restrain that compulsion," Blackwell told radio host Michelangelo Signorile, a gay and lesbian advocate, this summer during the Republican National Convention. "And so I think in fact you don't have to give in to the compulsion to be homosexual."
I know there are major theological differences here, but the RNC election seems like a game of one-upsmanship in bafoonery; remember Chip Saltsman?
4 comments:
I totally agree with Backwell's statements, but he omits something important. Heterosexuality is a compulsion as well, and heterosexuals can choose to restrain that compulsion to an equal extent as homosexuals.
As for Obama being inclusionary, to the point of making some in the GLBT minority nervous about his commitment to protecting their rights, I think his moves are acceptable. We do have to play the game with those we disagree with, and invite all to participate at the table. Otherwise we continue to stumble over the small differences and never succeed in areas we agree on.
I see what you are saying here, although I do not totally agree with the compulsion thing. This compulsion is not a choice, but rather a genetic disposition.
That said, people of all sexual orientations can and should reign in their libido when the situation calls for restraint (rape, infidility, etc).
However, if we are talking about consenting adults doing what feels natural and good and loving to them, who are we to impose?
Hetero sex is obviously not appealing to gay people, but should they then have the right to tell straights to abstain because of this?
Blackwell is not saying that homosexual behavior can be restrained. He is saying that it should be restrained, and I say that isn't his call to make.
Joel, I think this argument fundamentally comes down to whether or not homosexuality is a choice. Like Darren, I think there is a genetic predisposition to homosexuality and heterosexuality. This is where progressives and conservatives differ, both theologically and in terms of jurisprudence.
Well said Drew!
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