Kasim Reed says he’s still ‘wrestling with my beliefs’ on gay marriage
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed this evening said he’s not ready to follow President Barack Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage, declaring he was still “wrestling with my own personal beliefs.”
Here’s his statement:
“I respect President Obama’s decision to stand in support of marriage equality. I have fought hard for the rights of gays and lesbians my entire political career, from protecting adoption rights for gay and lesbian families, to voting against Georgia’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage as a state senator, to serving as the state house sponsor for the only hate crimes bill ever passed in the state of Georgia.
“While I am still wrestling with my own personal beliefs on the issue of marriage, I deeply appreciate the contributions gays and lesbians make to our city every single day and I remain committed to Atlanta’s vibrant and diverse LGBT community.”
Local petitions like this one on Facebook, urging Reed to hurry up and “evolve,” are already pushing the issue.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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165 comments Add your comment
D man
May 11th, 2012
10:28 am
Wow, the president and media have done a great job diverting away from the real issues that we are all facing today like the unemployment rate being higher than it was 3 years ago and the economy being on the brink of inflation and the horrible healthcare bill that will tax us all in to poverty along with the unbelievable amount of debt we have accumulated over the last three years because of foolish overspending.
willmentor
May 11th, 2012
10:33 am
@The South = TRASH Well I find it rather humerous for you to talk about hate crimes and all those hateful judgemental words come out in your post. Yes, where you live is a choice and I still belive that being homosexual is a choice as well. We are not completly like the animals in the wild that are function off of instinc. We are different in that we are able to make choices that impact our lives. You made a choice to leave Atlanta and your sexual preference. That is perfectly fine. I’m happy that you found a place to live. My question to you is why marriage? Why are homosexuals using a word that heterosexuals use?
Now you chose to use those words to describe all the people in Atlanta or even the south for that matter. So you won’t mind if people use those same hateful words to describe you. Awesome hypocrite….:) Also if you look up the word preference…you will find the word choice in there as well. Good luck with your sexual preference…..;)
Listen up!
May 11th, 2012
10:44 am
D Man, according to my research, the unemployment rate in July 2009 was 9.4 percent. The president had been in office for barely 6 months. Surely, you can’t believe that it would have instantaneously stopped the day he took office.
Jerome Horwitz
May 11th, 2012
10:46 am
willmentor – you’re right I don’t read as much as I should, but, you’re still an ignorant bigot justifying you narrow ideas behind religion. I will gladly meet my maker and tell him how I supported the same rights for all his children.
willmentor
May 11th, 2012
10:54 am
@Jerome Horwitz So in those rights that you are speaking of. Ya know the ones that are for all God’s children. Did it in any way say that you should call me an ignorant bigot. Ya, know I have a friend that’s homosexual and we get along great. I did explain my understanding of his choice and he respected that and I did the same. I do want you to know that it is fine with me that you chose to be gay. That’s totally up to you. Do what you will but don’t expect me to like it because you do. Don’t expect me to accept it because you do. That’s what makes us who we are. We are allowed to make our own choices and as long as you can stand on your own choice fine. Don’t worry about who approves of it. Including me.
willmentor
May 11th, 2012
11:04 am
@Jerome Horwitz You say I justify my ideas behind religion. What do you base yours on?
Aaron Burr V Mexico
May 11th, 2012
11:15 am
@WillSellSelfForFox – I base mine on how much Contards like it. Seriously, there is no easier moral compass than how much hateful disgusting people like you like it or not.
Have a nice day.
GAY IS NOT A CHOICE
May 11th, 2012
11:54 am
@willmentor – WHEN DID YOU “CHOOSE” TO BE STRAIGHT?
Ignorant
May 11th, 2012
11:56 am
@willmentor – You are the epitome of the uneducated, ignorant, ugly American.
willmentor
May 11th, 2012
1:17 pm
@GAY IS NOT A CHOICE Well if you must know that was a choice I made as I grew up.
@Ignorant if that’s what you wanna call yourself. Thanks for calling me American. All of the other stuff you can keep. Why do you resort to name calling because I don’t agree with you. That’s no way to get acceptance.
old man
May 11th, 2012
1:36 pm
@willmentor
Now I’m confused. You CHOSE to be straight? So are you saying we are all born with no sexual identity, and we all must choose? OK, so if God has no preference (you admit he creates us with no sexual identity, so I have to assume he does not care), then why is your “choice” protected by laws, and someone else’s not? Just because you write the rules and you get your way?
old man
May 11th, 2012
1:37 pm
Did Jesus tell us that when we had to choose, we must all choose heterosexuality? I missed that in my new testament. Are we required to choose? If we elect not to, does that mean we can never have sex, or we can have sex with either gender? Help me out here.
Aaron Burr V Mexico
May 11th, 2012
3:05 pm
@Willfully Oblivious – I don’t want to gain your acceptance.
The intolerant deserve no tolerance whatsoever.
Fact
May 11th, 2012
3:37 pm
For those mocking the Bible and trying to use New Testament against the Old Testament. First, there is no conflict, what God said in the Old Testament(Leviticus 18:22 & Leviticus 20:13), he said in the New Testament,(I Corinthian 6:9,10). Remember, he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, for their sins. Now that we have Jesus as our Savior, we have a chance before we face the same fate as they did.
P.S. you either believe in the Bible or you don’t, just like you either believe in Jesus as the Son of God or you don’t, there is no fence sitting here.
Just the Facts
May 11th, 2012
4:08 pm
The fact of the matter is that everyone has free will to do as one desires within the Laws of the Land. Therefore, I fully “respect” others choices, views and opinions, even when I don’t agree or see things the same way. While I am a Christian who believes in God, I am also not sinless and have my own faults and shortcomings like ALL other humans, so I’m in no place to judge anyone else. However, regardless of whether you believe there’s a God or not, let’s ALL put aside any religious, political or other beliefs or biases and look at the facts. If we all honestly did and envisioned life hundreds of years ago for our ancestors, we all would likely conclude that it apparently was NOT intended for two humans (or animals or other species) of the same gender to be together or to marry. Why, you ask? Because, it has always taken the natural biological composition of “males” and “females” to procreate.
Otherwise, it it were intended for same sexes to be together, life would have become extinct hundreds or thousands of years ago. While there are advances in technology and modern medicine today, such did not exist back then. Therefore, the great-great-great-great grandparents of persons who believe they’re entitled to be together today would have never been born if their ancestors did not connect with the opposite gender and procreate.