Two forms of marriage have been called into question during the 2012 election: 1) same-sex and 2) religion and politics. Over 200 years after the infamous clauses “all men are created equal” and “separation of church and state,” many believe that their equality has been called into question, and that religion and politics are still interlocked. As politicians and political parties point fingers and let loose a confusing myriad of “he saids,” it can be difficult to keep track of what each presidential candidate is all about. Good thing HC is here to help you out by breaking Election 2012 down! Let’s see what each presidential candidate’s stance is on these two controversial issues.
Same-Sex Marriage
The Obama-Biden Platform
The road to equal rights has been a rough one, even for the president, who won America over in 2008 with the platform “change we can believe in.” But change, it seemed, was only applicable to some—when asked about his views on same-sex marriage four years ago, President Obama responded: “I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage.”
Fast forward to May 2012, to what many are calling Obama’s evolution. After Joe Biden prematurely leaked his same-sex marriage endorsement, the president, who had planned to announce the news at the Democratic Convention, went public with his support as well.
Did we see this coming? In some ways, yes. Though he initially championed the traditional definition of marriage, the president also denounced Proposition 8, a ruling that made same-sex marriage illegal in California until it was declared unconstitutional in 2010, and supported civil unions. Then, in September of 2011, he proudly proclaimed that “patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer have to lie about who they are in order to serve the country they love” after signing the Repeal Act for Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The path towards acceptance has certainly been paved over the last four years, and Obama himself insisted that it has been a process.
But when baby steps suddenly turn into strides relatively close to the election, the concern is that the timing of Obama’s “evolution” is a political maneuver, one Emory ’13 collegiette worries.
“[I] don’t believe that Obama truly supports gay marriage — I don’t buy that his views on gay marriage took a good four years to evolve, and that he finally gave it half-hearted support conveniently around election season. Really? …[W]e should hold [our leaders] to incredibly high standards, and instead of celebrating Obama’s miniscule, baby steps to Romney’s backwards ones, we should be looking for ways to make strides — and the people who make them possible.”
Well, support is support, right? Who cares if it’s just in time for the election?
True, but you want a president who is passionate about the issues you care about, and who is going to push your values forward. If you’re a same-sex marriage supporter, Obama’s endorsement is a good step in that direction, but he currently has no intention of implementing gay marriage rights on the federal level, believing that legislation should be passed by the states—even as many states move to ban these rights.
Still, Obama’s endorsement has helped many collegiettes decide in his favor this year.
“Any law that prohibits an individual’s pursuit of happiness while not inflicting upon the legal rights of others is unconstitutional by nature,” says RLCG Andy, San Francisco State ’13. “Same sex marriage is no different than segregation issues of the mid 20th century… So yeah, hands down support for Obama. The fact we still have presidential candidates against gay-marriage is embarrassing for the human race.”
The Romney-Ryan Platform
Although Massachusetts was the first state to legalize same-sex marriage under Governor Romney’s leadership, Romney has made his opposition on the issue crystal clear—to him, marriage is between a woman and a man. That statement is not without some flexibility, as Romney acknowledged the loving relationship between same-sex couples, and that under a domestic partnership, he could “see rights, such as hospital visitation rights, and similar types of things, being provided to those individuals.”. But it seems that the use of the word “loving” is about as far as this candidate will go in support of same-sex marriage. Romney, who signed a National Organization for Marriage pledge, which enforced the male-female definition of marriage, is also not in favor of civil unions.
His running mate Ryan, the first Generation X-er to be on a vice presidential political ticket, stands by his views. In his address to the Republican National Convention—which for the most part focused on the economy and skirted gay rights issues—he praised Romney as “[n]ot only a defender of marriage, he offers an example of marriage at its best.”
The controversial statement, of course, brought its own issues—defending marriage against what?—as the party divided straight America and gay America into defense and offense.
“Instead of putting together the largest possible coalition of voters, they’re relying largely on one slice of America — middle-aged white men — and alienating just about everyone else,” an article in the Huffington Post says.
A vision for America as a whole is one thing, but a vision for one part is another.
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Religion
The Obama-Biden Platform
Obama is not unfamiliar with accusations on his religious agenda. When he was running for election in 2008 and his former pastor Jeremiah Wright’s fiery statements were released, Obama withdrew his membership from Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, while remaining an unaffiliated Christian. Since then, Obama had to fight the Bush administration’s cries that he was a closet Muslim.
Unfortunately, Obama has once again been put under pressure by religious constituents because of a jab he made towards white rural voters, whom he claims are bitterly against his visions of progress, and thus, cling to “guns or religion.” (The full text of this quote can found here).
The defense? We can safely assume that, as a Christian, Obama probably did not mean to alienate Christian voters altogether. In fact, many believe that Obama is a supporter of religious freedom, given the choice he grants women in his healthcare plan (see Romney below). As for his new view on same-sex marriage, which has also strained his section of the religious vote, many are beginning to wonder, “What happened to separation of church and state?”
Obama seems to have linked the two during a White House dinner celebrating the Muslim holy month of Ramadan this August. The president delivered a speech in which he assured listeners that an “attack on Americans of any faith is an attack on the freedom of all religions” and that every American should be free to practice their faith openly.
Regardless, guess who’s milking the anti-religious thing for all it’s worth…
The Romney-Ryan Platform
Romney, a Mormon, has put the fire under Obama in an ad campaign that claims the president is waging “war on religion.” It’s not just the “guns and religion” comment—although that has certainly helped fuel the ads, but the fact that Obama’s health care plan requires health insurance companies to cover contraceptive costs for women free of charge. While church organizations are exempt from this rule, it does apply to “affiliated nonprofit corporations, like hospitals, that do not rely primarily on members of faith as employees.” This is a clause that has been especially disconcerting for the Catholic community, and Romney has stepped up to the “religious right” plate, deeming contraception “abortive pills” resulting in a “violation of conscience.”
The counter-attack to this claim is that the contraception clause actually supports religious freedom because it allows a woman to decide for herself whether or not she wants her insurance company to cover the cost of contraception. Regardless, Republican tactics seemed to have worked in their favor: this poll shows that Protestants back Romney over Obama by 13 percentage points.
Ironically enough, though Romney has painted himself as the protector of religious freedom, the word “Mormon” is rarely used on the campaign trail.
“I…have no doubt that Governor Romney would do his best to represent the interests of his constituents no matter what religion he is,” says one anonymous Mount Holyoke ’15 collegiette. “Some things should stay a part of your personal life, and unfortunately, when running for president, nothing is personal. I do think that Obama attacking Romney’s religious standpoints is quite frankly a low blow. There are bigger and more deserving issues than what Romney’s personal religion is.”
Why should you care?
Informed decisions are intelligent decisions. The next president elect won’t just affect our country for the next four years, but will leave a legacy and a precedent for all Americans to come. When we vote, we aren’t just voting for a person, we’re voting for how our country is going to look in the future. And the composition of a country relies on its values—that is why we must vote for our issues. So instead of looking at the party as a whole, you should ask, “Which candidate will fight for what I believe in?” That way, you can place your values at the forefront of this election and make your vote count.