While gay left bloggers including Michael Petrelis as well as the folks at Towleroad and Queerty have stayed on top of events in Iran, reporting on the persecution and execution of our fellows in that troubled land, the major gay groups have, for the most part, been silent.
The fledgling GOProud, however, has just released a web ad calling on the President to end his silence and stand up to the oppressive regime:
The organization’s Executive Director Jimmy LaSalvia offered:
Our allies are willing to stand up for basic human rights and stand up to Iran. Indeed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke before the United Nations General Assembly eloquently and with powerful moral clarity about the treatment of gays and lesbians under Ahmadinejad. . . . All across the Muslim world, gays and lesbians, along with women and religious minorities, are denied basic civil rights. Indeed, the penalty for simply being gay in Muslim countries like Iran is death. . . Yet, President Obama refuses to stand up to Iran and refuses to speak out against their barbaric treatment of gays and lesbians.
His colleague Christopher Barron, Chairman of GOProud’s Board of Directors, added that if the President’s statement at the HRC dinner this past weekend that he was “with gays and lesbians in our fight” mean anything at all, he must “speak out against the government-sanctioned murder of gay people in Ahmadinejad’s Iran.”
As on most issues with this President, a little less talk and a lot more action are in order.
Yeah, he should really try and earn that Peace Prize.
Shocking photo, thank you for sharing the truth.
Obama does not think BIG when it comes to global freedom, hence he does mention it in a context beyond domestic legislation.
We’ve all met the gay immigrants from Cuba, Russia, Venezuela, China… HRC may seem irrevelant to us, but for folks in those countries they look to HRC and America as an example in leaderership for their freedom. It would have been a perfect forum for him to call out this issue. He would expend ZERO political capital speaking about human rights for gays in the Arab world.
The sincerity on personal freedom is just not there. It’s difficult to see Obama as a liberator.
Obama is a very weak man and weak President. All he knows how to do is talk. If talking alone brought about peace mankind would have far fewer wars to guarantee freedom. America won the cold war when we out spent the Communists on defense to the point where their country went bankrupt. The result was millions of freed eastern europeans. Obama if in charge back then would still be talking to the Soviet dictators giving concessions. Obamas a weak leader or no leader at all.
why would Obama stand up for you gays? You continue to support Democrats with money and votes and keep coming back for more punishment when they drop you cold once they have gotten what they want. Oh, you’ll see them again come re-election time , when they need your money and vote again, only to leave you in the dust with blatently transparent excuses why they won’t help you. You’ve shown for years your willing to sabatoge yourself by believing their crock of crap. They don’t want to buy the cow or the milk and they don’t have to with gays continuing to be their rubes
As someone who is niether gay or Republican, I marvel at what fools most gays are, blindly supporting people that so blatently lie to their face and use them. there is only one difference between Democrats and Republicans on gay issues-Republicans are honest to your face and at least respect you enough not to use you. Democrats have no problem taking advantage again and again of gay suckers. and why not? you ony up again and again when no results have happened or will happen, ever.
1.Yeah, he should really try and earn that Peace Prize.
Agreed.
4.why would Obama stand up for you gays?
Because it’s the right thing to do, Rory. I agree with the point about donating money, and getting backstabbed, and all that. But we’re also talking proportion here. We’re talking about simply not getting beat up at the hands of repressive regime vs. inequality regarding the military or marriage privileges.
And it’s not just the gays. A handful of Iranians were sentenced to death the other day for opposing the election of Ahmadouchebag and apparently our Douchebag in Chief could give a damn.
your missing the point Pat. Gays keep giving Democrats their money and votes without ever having to produce a single result. Again, why should they when they are of like mind as Republicans in Washington and gays are happy to throw them money and votes year after year? Your kidding yourself if you think otherwise.
In case you haven’t noticed, politicians don’t do anything because it’s the right thing to do. Seriously, if you looked at his remarks prior to being elected, he wasn’t a gay friendly presidential candidate. However, it did show very clearly that he promised every thing to everybody and would not deliver. That’s his M.O- say what you want to hear to get your vote and then vote “present”.
Until gays get it through their head that Democrats don’t want to help them either, this will be a continuing cycle that goes on endlessly.
Tell me, how many years have you been voting Democrat, waiting for them to “do the right thing”?
Rory, you do realize that you are on a blog run by gay men who do NOT support the Democrats? You’re essentially preaching to the choir about the Democrat Party. I do not care for the GOP but I frankly despise the DNC on more issues than I can count.
Yes I do and it is not directed to GP. There are plenty of others that read this blog that DO think Democrats will wave a magic wand “this time and mean it”. Both straight and gay.
Rory, I do get your point. My point is, even if Obama was honest, and said that he was going to string people along, make excuses, delay, and perhaps not even ever bother to try ending DADT, and DOMA, he still should be condemning Iran for these latest actions. Yes, I am well aware that politicians lie and do things for the sake of getting elected.
As for voting, I’ve hit the cynical stage. I expect very little of politicians, especially in terms of honesty and integrity, and I usually vote for what I perceive is the lesser of two evils. While I have voted for more Democrats recently, I still vote for Republicans. When possible, I base my vote on what I think a politician will do, not what they say they will do.
Another impossible event in Iran. (HT/The Corner) If only the government funded an organization to collect these reports and spread them out.
Oh, wait, at one time we did. Wonder who killed it?
I’ve been wondering why I don’t hear more outrage from Gay American citizens, just as I wonder where all the loud feminist voices are over stoning of Iranian women.
And here you are! Figures you’d be a conservative. As a former Democrat who now calls myself Independent, the more I listen and watch, the more I see that Democrats stand for nothing of importance.
If they can’t stand in the streets (which I as an Independent have at Iranian freedom protests) outraged over the hanging of gay men and stoning of women, what do they stand for?
Good work opening eyes!