With the passage of full marriage equality for same-sex couples in Vermont, Iowa, Connecticut and Massachusetts, history has chosen lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights to be the defining American struggle for equality and civil rights during Barack Obama’s Presidency. President Obama has left little doubt that his role models are Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Both of who have a legacy as courageous civil rights figures. Although racial discrimination still exists, most of the major legal and legislative battles for racial equality have already been fought. LGBT equality may be the civil rights issue that defines Obama’s historical legacy.
Monday morning, I called Vermont State Representative Cynthia Browning of Arlington at home and asked her to vote with the Vermont Democratic Party and support an override of Governor Jim Douglas’s expected veto of the same sex marriage equality bill. During out warm and friendly chat Rep. Browning implied that she was the real loyal Democrat because unlike the Vermont Democratic Party, it is she who is supporting President Obama’s exact position on same sex marriage.
The Power 