In response to a question at his Wednesday press conference about whether he was “at all uncomfortable that there could be different rules in different states” regarding gay marriage, President Obama replied:
I think what you’re seeing is a profound recognition on the part of the American people that gays and lesbians and transgender persons are our brothers, our sisters, our children, our cousins, our friends, our co-workers, and that they’ve got to be treated like every other American. And I think that principle will win out…. I think we’re moving in a direction of greater equality and I think that’s a good thing.
And what, exactly, is “that principle,” a principle that when applied leads inexorably to “greater equality”? Easy. It’s the principle that gays, lesbians, and transgender persons have a right “to be treated like every other American,” i.e., without regard to their sex or sexual preference.
How odd, then, that the president and his administration so adamantly continue to support consciousness of, and preferential treatment based on, race, gender, and ethnicity. Perhaps at his next press conference Obama can explain why he believes sexual minorities must be treated the same as everyone else but racial and ethnic minorities deserve to be regarded as different and treated differently.
