THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

THE TIME IS HERE

Barack Obama on Wednesday became the first president in U.S. history to personally endorse same-sex marriage, putting one of the most socially and culturally divisive issues in American politics at the forefront of his campaign for re-election.

After several years in which his personal views on gay marriage had been "evolving," Obama said he felt it was "important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married."

Those first two paragraphs are a direct quote from this morning's Vancouver Sun.

Yes, there are more pressing issues at hand in the current U.S. election. The American economy and the American sense of pride are both wobbly. Jobs, productivity, immigration, the role of government, all of these and more have huge daily impact on the lives of all our neighbours south  of the border.

But this matter of equal rights and opportunities for gays is also important, and President Obama's forthright declaration is courageous, righteous and historic.

This is called progress and all the  agencies that call themselves Family Somnethingorother and exist only to hate a tiny segment of the community are whistling in the wind.

I have attended two gay marriage ceremonies in recent years, one in Toronto and one in New Westminster. Both events were beautiful and both couples are doing just fine, thanks for asking.