Hey, Obama. Evolve already!

President Obama, who is still "evolving" on his view of gay marriage, recently announced his reelection bid. Obama, a liberal constitutional scholar who only mentions religion or morals if pressed, has selected several openly gay nominees to fill judicial positions. He also appointed an openly gay social secretary this winter. We have no doubt that his "continuing evolution" on gay marriage is mere political pandering, making sure that this social issue doesn't overshadow his other pressing goals. Many critics have harped on this, most recently Bill Maher, who said: "Now that a Cheney, a McCain and a Bush have come out to support gay marriage, it's your turn, Obama. What are you waiting for? The state of Alabama?"
Maher was referring to Cindy McCain, John McCain's wife; Barbara Bush, our last president's daughter; and good god, Dick Cheney.
Maybe Obama just doesn't want to deal with ENDA, which would make sure that LGBTs aren't fired just because they're L,G,B, or T. The bill, formally known as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, has been introduced in every Congress save one since 1994, but has never passed.
Obama has started to chip away at the Defense of Marriage Act, proclaiming that he'll stop sending lawyers to defend certain parts of it. But DOMA still exists, still allows states to not recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, and still makes it OK for our country to not give same-sex married couples the same benefits as heterosexual married couples when trying to get citizenship.
Yes, we know, untangling the legal idiocies that are stuck on our legislation like cheap pantyhose on barbed wire is difficult. It's not going to be undone with a snap of the fingers. But the first step is making our issues mainstream.
We're not sure whose support we need to get before we're officially mainstream, but the official support of our liberal president would surely help.
A lot of us don't even know that we can lose our jobs without warning, and we don't have any state or federal laws to protect us. A lot of us don't even know that in the vast majority of states, we can't adopt children with our partners – that the child is only allowed the protection of one legal parent just because the parents are the same sex.
These are mainstream problems that interfere with our rights to liberty – yes, liberals can want liberty, too – and happiness. So it's not only up to Obama to wake up and evolve already. It's up to us to demand mainstream recognition. We are not radical or extremists asking for special recognition. We're asking for our basic rights and needs to be covered.
This next election cycle is just starting to rev up. This time, let's make sure that our voices are heard – not just as a cry from the corner but as a unified front, bellowing front and center. It starts with you, and it starts now.