Earlier today, President Obama issued a memorandum calling for nations to help promote “the fair treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people worldwide,” as reported by ThinkProgress. The President even spoke before the United Nations where he expressed that he was “deeply concerned by the violence and discrimination targeting LGBT persons around the world — whether it is passing laws that criminalize LGBT status, beating citizens simply for joining peaceful LGBT pride celebrations, or killing men, women, and children for their perceived sexual orientation.”
Naturally, Perry took arms against this plea for basic human rights across the planet.
Perry had this to say about Obama’s call for human rights:
This administration’s war on traditional American values must stop… [and] This is just the most recent example of an administration at war with people of faith in this country. Investing tax dollars promoting a lifestyle many Americas of faith find so deeply objectionable is wrong…President Obama has again mistaken America’s tolerance for different lifestyles with an endorsement of those lifestyles. I will not make that mistake.”
I didn’t realize American values and basic human rights were two different things because according to Perry they are. Whether Perry or any other uber conservative wants to admit it or not, this country was founded on basic human rights. Those rights were fought for and were why we ultimately separated from Britain. We wanted to right to be who we were, to worship as we pleased, to live freely without unjust representation and taxation, and to live in a land for the people and by the people.
Perry (and many others) falsely believe that their Christian beliefs are the be-all and-end-all. Well, that’s just not the way it is. I’m a Christian, but I don’t force my Christianity on anyone else. I also don’t expect every single person to believe as I do much less support gay rights. Everyone has their beliefs. But just because I’m not straight nor Muslim doesn’t mean I don’t think straight Muslims have inalienable rights in this country (or the world) either.
Persecuting people for any reason should never be tolerated, and this is something President Obama is taking a stand on. While I for one would like Obama to take a stronger stand on gay rights in America, I’m still pleased he made this statement for the world wide community.
If Perry had his way, though, persecuting people who aren’t Christian or follow his set of morality would be A-OK.