The Harry Potter Alliance

Thank you, Mr. President.

Okay, I know, this is several days late. What can I say, finals swallowed me whole and blogs kind of weren’t happening. But I’m BACK NOW, and sink me if the President didn’t stand up for gay rights while I was away.

Yep, that’s right. Whatever you think of him, President Obama just became the first American President ever to openly support gay marriage. I think that deserves a round of applause, personally. It’s a huge step forward in the fight for equality, and coming as it did on the same day that North Carolina passed a bill making same-sex marriage bans part of their state constitution, it was even more powerful.

Politically, it was a risky move, and may well hurt Obama’s re-election campaign. But knowing that, he stood up and did it anyways, claiming personal reasons for the sudden move.

“At a certain point I’ve just concluded that, for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.” ~Barack Obama

I’m not a huge fan of politics, myself. I tend to stay away from them on the grounds that I get hopping mad and throw things when I get too involved in political arguments. Here, however, is a political moment that I can get hopping happy about (boy, that doesn’t happen often), and absolutely support. It’s not definitive–they aren’t passing legislation or anything; and it’s going to make the election race even more hairy than usual, what with Romney now promising to back a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage–but it’s a huge step in the right direction.

The announcement has certainly reminded me of the importance of voting, and whatever the outcome of this year’s presidential election, I think it is safe to say that Obama’s legacy will be greatly enhanced by being remembered as the first American President to stand up for LGBTQ rights.

What do you think of the President’s announcement? Tell us in the comments below!