On Rick Warren

I agree with Joe Solmonese of Human Rights Campaign, that Barack Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at the presidential inauguration, is insensitive and insulting to the GLBT community. In affect, insulting to any of us who support inclusion and equal rights for all Americans.

Rick Warren, a right-wing religious fundamentalist has attacked GLBT people, putting their sexuality in the same category as pedophilia and incest. Further, "non-believers" have been attacked by Warren as having no place in public office. Does he also mean unless they worship a Christian god?

When Obama strives to "reach across the isle" to include many points of view, I wish that he would do so with a little more tact. If Warren was on record as having made racist comments about blacks or Asians, he certainly would have been disqualified from taking on this role. As one pundit on MSNBC stated earlier this evening, gays and "non-believers" are still fair game for attack.

That a President-elect would overlook this homophobia and divisiveness at a time when we need him to bring us together is truly disappointing. It reinforces for me that while Obama is willing to say he supports GLBT rights, he is not really committed to this issue. It's a reflection too of the many Obama supporters who voted for Prop 8 and the evident lack of regard Obama is showing for the many gay Americans who voted for him, in hopes that he would embrace their community as part of his over-all desire for unity.

Further, I don't understand why the separation of church and state doesn't apply to this religious invocation ritual to begin with. If Obama wants a blessing for his presidency he should do it in the privacy of his church. Since his decision to invite Warren to proceed appears largely to be a political move, it lends an especially phony and hallow tone to the whole inauguration.