To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to express my extreme disgust, and feelings of betrayal that have me almost in tears, in hearing the appointment of Rick Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration of President-Elect Obama in January.

I can remember sitting with my girlfriend, as she and I watched Obama’s acceptance speech on our couch, late into the night. We were thinking, that just maybe, just maybe, we had someone in the ultimate position in this country that could give us our rights, that would not think that giving credence to those that advocate for us to have less rights, like Rick Warren does, is the right thing to do somehow.

But no, apparently PE Obama feels the same as previous politicians have; that our rights are merely a political viewpoint.

This isn’t a matter of putting someone up that we disagree with, this isn’t a difference of opinion. I have friends who I wonderfully disagree with on a range of issues.

Rather, This is someone that believes me and those I love and care for, do not deserve the same rights he enjoys. This is someone who compares my acts of love to some of the most despicable human behaviour. This is someone that actively wants to get his religious bigotries enshrined in law and the constitution. This is someone that thinks that he should decide my reproductive choices. This is someone who thinks I am less than him.

The pro-choice position does not force anyone to get an abortion who does not want one; the anti-choice position, however, prevents women who want abortions from getting them. The pro-marriage equality position does not force anyone to marry a person of the same sex, nor require that any churches perform same-sex marriage ceremonies; the anti-marriage equality position, however, prevents same-sex couples who want to get married from doing so and prevents churches who want to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies from doing so.

The progressive position allows for individual choice; the conservative position does not. The progressive position expands freedom; the conservative position limits it. The progressive position treats women and LGBTQIs as autonomous, rights-bearing human beings deserving of full equality; the conservative position treats women’s bodies as state property and LGBTQIs as second-class citizens.

These are not two sides of the same coin. One advocates for equal rights, the other says those equal rights are “special rights”. I am not arguing to take the rights of anyone away.

Sure, we need to bring all viewpoints to the table, so that as many people in the country can have a say and discuss issues together. But this inaugural invocation is not doing that. This is validating a man that says I am less equal than him because the person I am with is a woman.

You will get no more donations from me, nor support, nor effort, unless you change your mind on this.

I cannot begin to describe how much you have hurt and betrayed me in doing this. For a moment there, I believed.

No more.

yours,
Sarah [last name redacted here]

I’ve also written on my blog about this a couple times … what with this, the HHS Rule Change, the pushing in CA by the Prop H8 bigots to annul existing same-sex marriage licenses, and the US alone amongst western nations in not signing the UN declaration calling for the worldwide decriminalisation of homosexuality, it’s been a really bloody awful week.