It’s pretty wild that he chose an election year to do this, and that his people decided to go with what’s right over what’s convenient. There will be some political opportunities stemming from this, but I think the risks outweigh the reward. People claim that he would have lost states where this could have an effect, but given the expected level of contention in states like North Carolina and Virginia, amongst others, I’m very skeptical of that assertion. I think the view that it’s safe if not advantageous for him to do so comes from the fact that a slim majority in national polls favor marriage equality. But we still use the electoral college and there’s quite a bit of regional disparity in that poll.

So as quickly as I muttered “about fucking time” in reaction to his statement, I also appreciated the move from a historic standpoint.

But I do have to say I’m disappointed in Obama’s assertion that in regards to this issue he still “respects states’ rights.”

When you’re talking about economics and infrastructure, I’m willing to entertain “rights of states” arguments. But just as it’s wrong for civil rights to be put up for a referendum, it’s also wrong for it to be viewed as a “state issue.” This country’s history with civil rights has proven, time and again, that it can’t be something that’s punted off to the lower levels of government just to satiate someone’s religious fervor for libertarian and/or anti-federalist ideologies.

If civil rights were left to states, we’d still have areas in this country where segregation was a mandate. To cede federal authority on such matters is wrong, and it ignores ample historical evidence that supports it.

Closure wouldn’t come from the singular incident until June of 2009, when an openly gay man was appointed as the director of the Federal Civil Service. Kameny was invited to the swearing in ceremony, where in a prepared speech he was given a full apology and the promise of a better tomorrow.

But he did more than stand up once. He continued writing, advocating, and speaking right up until his passing last Tuesday.

From The New Republic:

The gay rights movement is widely considered to have begun with the Stonewall Riot of 1969, when, rather than succumb to police intimidation as they always had before, a group of patrons at a Greenwich Village gay bar fought back. “Stonewall” has become enshrined in American history as the Lexington and Concord of gay rights. But this reading of history gets it wrong. While Stonewall was indeed a seminal moment, the movement would never have found its footing had it not been for the tireless and courageous actions of Kameny, whose work began over a decade earlier. Essentially blacklisted, he devoted his life to the cause, never reconsidering the choice to do so because, as he told the Washington, D.C. gay magazine Metroweekly several years ago, “I’m right and they’re wrong.”

I am glad he lived long enough to see a nation apologize to him, New York pass marriage equality, and the United States military repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Frank Kameny was the greatest kind of American. To say he will be missed would be to provide a disservice to his efforts and the changes he ushered in.

Tell them, Frank.