Not surprisingly, we haven’t heard a whole hell of a lot from elected officials in Texas about President Barack Obama’s decision to come out in support of marriage equality.
That may be because some Texas Republicans are reluctant to slam the president too hard given how quickly public opinion is changing on this issue, while some Democrats may be reluctant to lavish too much praise because, after all, it is still Texas.
But you can always count on State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, to speak up anytime we cross a significant milestone in the fight for full LGBT equality. Coleman, a staunch LGBT ally who happens to be facing an openly gay challenger in the Democratic Primary, sent out the below statement in an email on Friday, along with an image of the brilliant editorial cartoon by the Houston Chronicle’s Nick Anderson that I’ve posted above. (On a side note, it doesn’t appear as though the Chronicle has actually published an editorial in support of Obama’s announcement. The San Angelo Standard Times did so over the weekend, but I’m not aware of any other newspapers in Texas that have, including both The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Which is shameful.)
Anyhow, here’s what Coleman had to say in his email:
Like so many others over the years, President Obama has finally come to realize that there is no “separate but equal” when it comes to marriage rights. Civil Unions that grant equal rights are simply not good enough. Marriage is a special bond that for far too long this country has withheld from gays and lesbians. I, and many others, have been fighting for marriage equality for years, and now we have the President on our side.
We still do not have marriage equality in Texas, but the tide is turning. It is only a matter of time now before we are all treated equally under the eyes of the law. This is a civil rights issue, and Reverend Al Sharpton said it best: “We cannot be selective with civil rights. We must support civil rights for everybody or we don’t support them for anyone.”
