Proud in the Revolution

Obama’s support for same-sex marriage is declarative, yet historical. The move will be a tailwind for the community members and their supporters, but also for their conservative adversaries.

In recent years, more and more American states have decided to allow gay marriage, and everybody already knew that it would be one of the central topics of the forthcoming election. I was lucky to be in New York when Obama historically declared that he supported same-sex marriage.

It feels here that the gay revolution, which the U.S. has been going through in recent years, made a significant leap with this declaration. During my visit as the Tel-Aviv municipality representative in a U.S. conference about the gay community’s rights, I met politicians and key persons in the gay community. Nobody had actually believed that Obama would make this dramatic move. It is indeed only a declarative move, but for Americans it is much more than a declaration of intentions. It is a substantial revolution.

It isn’t obvious, we should remember, that in the conservative U.S. the polls show support for same-sex marriage by more than 50 percent of the population, with percentages going higher the younger and richer the sampling is.

No doubt Obama’s move was intended to attract these voices and strengthen his status among the young audience and among rich homosexuals who can donate their money to Obama’s campaign. Already in the forthcoming month, Obama will visit New York in order to reap the harvest and raise funds. A $5,000 donation can get you a photo with Obama. Many in the gay community have already bought a ticket.

The First to Say It Explicitly

So what is all this fuss about? After all, Obama had already expressed support for the gay community. It appears that there’s a great difference between supporting the gay community and supporting same-sex marriage.

For a large population in America, this means the collapse of the traditional family and the values on which the country is based; or, as an interviewee at a TV station said: “What will be the next move, and where should we draw the line? Will siblings be able to marry each other in the future as well? Or maybe we shall allow marriage with our pets?”* The subject is so sensitive that up until Obama, no president has ever explicitly said that he supported same-sex marriage.

One of the central subjects in the “Equality Forum” summit in Philadelphia, in which I took part, was the gay community’s rights in Israel. I was amazed to find out what a long way our young state has gone when it comes to the gay community’s rights, compared to our bigger and conservative sister, the United States.

There is no doubt that Obama’s declaration is going to boost both sides. The conservatives will become more conservative, and the Republican camp will play upon family values during the presidential campaign. And on the other side, we will see Democratic states daring to take the necessary move and allow same-sex marriage. For the thousands of activists throughout the U.S., this is a historic day that fuels the continuation of the struggle, which is defined perhaps as the most important in the history of the gay community there.

I believe that the wind blowing from Washington will spread also beyond the borders of the U.S.; maybe we will also get to see the day when religion will be separated from the state, and civil marriage, as well as gay marriage, will be allowed.

The author is a member of the Tel-Aviv City Council and the head of the Israel Gay Youth organization.

*Editor’s Note: This quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.