Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and 22 other Senators who have now stated their support for a marriage equality plank to be included in the Democratic Party Platform. But our so called fierce advocate, President Obama, continues to remain silent. And yesterday Obama’s campaign chief, Jim Messina, was doing his best to duck and dodge when questioned about the party plank and Obama’s ever “evolving” position on marriage equality. March will mark the 17^th month since Obama first announced that his position on the right of gay people to marry would “evolve.” Yet despite many heated state battles over the issue of marriage equality which could have definitely benefited from some fierce advocacy from the White House; Obama remained silent. Reporters have repeatedly questioned the president about when his evolution on the issue of equality will end, yet the president remained silent.

Obama wasn’t so silent back in 2008. He proudly broadcast his anti-gay bigotry to millions when he clearly stated his views on gay marriage to Pastor Rick Warren in a televised appearance: “I believe that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. For me as a Christian, it is also a sacred union, God is in the mix.” Obama said. And the president has never disavowed that statement and he stood by it for nearly the first two years of his presidency until the battle for marriage equality and mounting pressure from the gay community pushed Obama into damage control mode and he announced that his position would “evolve.”

What kind of message does the president think he is sending when he promotes, and refuses to recant, the idea that God himself discriminates against gay people? What kind of message is he sending by remaining silent and on the sidelines during the ongoing battle to attain full marriage equality for gay Americans? And what kind of message are we (the adults) of the gay community sending our youth when so many of us refuse to speak truth to power and call Obama out for his cowardice? Should our leaders only stand against bigotry if it suits their political purposes? Do we only fight against bigotry if we think we can win? Is a promotion of the lesser of two evils all we have to offer our youth?