Evolving: Personal choice — even for Obama

The President of the United States’ view on marriage equality has evolved to be on the right side of constitutional history — so has America to be exact. Polls indicate that 62 percent of Americans believe

same-sex couples should be allowed to marry or that civil unions should be used to grant them the legal rights equal or similar to male-female partnerships. This is not a religious question — it’s a civil rights issue.

In the U.S., one defines civil rights as a personal liberty established by the 13th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, especially as applied to an individual or a minority group.

In the U.S., one defines civil rights as a personal liberty established by the 13th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, especially as applied to an individual or a minority group. Being gay or lesbian does fit the definition of belonging to a minority group. Blacks should clearly understand the tyranny of the majority, being that they were denied the right to interracial marriage from 1865 to 1967. It was only then that the Supreme Court ruled the law to be unconstitutional. In fact, the last law on the books was repealed in 2001 in the state of Alabama. What do you think about that?

I guess the operative question is whether you believe that your religious rights supersede an individual’s rights in a civil society? Shouldn’t one’s right to co-habitate with another, love another and yes, even marry someone of the same sex be a personal choice not a governmental decision? I submit we are traveling down a slippery slope. I have evolved as President Obama has. What about you?

Henry Crespo, Sr., is vice chairman of outreach for the Miami-Dade Democratic Party.