Keith Olbermann Issues Special Comment on Passing of Prop. 8

In a week that has seen everyone from Ellen DeGeneres to Drew Barrymore speak out against California’s passing of Prop. 8 -- the ban on same-sex marriage -- MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann issued a passionate commentary on the passing of Prop. 8, asking supporters, “Why does this matter to you?”

Olbermann promised last week that he would be issuing a "special comment" on the passing of Prop. 8. Staying true to his word, on his show last night, he prefaced his report by saying that he has no personal stake in the issue of same-sex marriage. He said he was even hard-pressed to find one family member who is gay.

“To me, this vote is horrible…horrible,” Olbermann said. “Because this isn’t about yelling and this isn’t about politics. This is about the human heart, and if that sounds corny, so be it.”

Later in his report, Olbermann pointed to the many times throughout history in which America has had to redefine marriage in accordance with achieving civil rights.

“I keep hearing this term ‘redefining marriage.’ If this country hadn’t redefined marriage, black people still couldn’t marry white people. Sixteen states had laws on the books which made that illegal in 1967... 1967. The parents of the president-elect of the United States could not have married in nearly one third of the states in the country their son grew up to lead.”

Since Prop. 8 passed by a narrow majority last Tuesday, rallies have been held around the state protesting the voters’ decision. On Saturday some 12,500 people marched through Los Angeles's Silver Lake district protesting the same-sex marriage ban. (The Advocate)

Keywords: California marriage Prop 8

Related stories from Advocate.com

2009-07-02: The Faces of Federal Prop. 8
2009-06-20: The Great Undoing?
2009-06-03: The Upside of Prop. 8
2009-05-29: Pastors: No Marriage for Straight People
2009-05-28: Aftermath: Day of Decision

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Name: Eric Penner
Date posted: 2008-11-12 4:22 PM
Hometown: Dana Point, CA

Comment:

I voted against Prop 8, and even posted a photo of my electronic ballot on my blog. I just cannot believe it's legal for out-of-state groups (LDS) to fund elections in a completely different state. Also, the wording of the Yes on 8 ads was absolutely despicable. The 'restore traditional marriage' message - as though gay marriage took something away from straight couples' right to marry - was atrociously misleading. Like Keith, I am not gay, but I have several gay friends, and I was confident that the people of California would never let this Prop pass. It's 2008, and this degree of inequality coupled with the religious right's gay-marriage repo man, makes me feel as though I live in a different time; a time when my hero Oscar Wilde was sentenced to hard labor as a result of his homosexuality. Every citizen of this country deserves the exact same rights - regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. Discrimination is categorically sickening.

Name: Crozier
Date posted: 2008-11-12 2:39 PM
Hometown: Rohnert Park

Comment:

Wow!!! Thank you for being so articulate and speaking for me and many others that have not yet learned to have a voice. I was so appauled by Sheri, of the View, and her thought of Christian duty which aired Friday the 7th. You see I am a gay christian in a long term loving relationship. My belief is that Christ died for all of us and there is nothing greater than love, but there is no equallity for gays, even in a domestic partnership. If my partners company pays for part of my health insurance, my partner is taxed for that $. It is my understanding that in a hetero marriage that same $ is not taxed. I believe we are all made in Gods image, black white, gay, straight. So again, I thank you for giving me a voice, for speaking your heart and your truth. You see it is really my truth that you are speaking. Sincerely, Julie Crozier gay in CA

Name: JJ
Date posted: 2008-11-12 9:17 AM
Hometown: Clifton, NJ

Comment:

Hey there Christian and Davie-Christian dogma was created by a bunch of folks/jerks looking to unite the warring religious factions in Rome and prevent its ruination, at the First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day Iznik in Turkey), convoked by the pagan Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325. This is where the current New Testament was created and where other works - such as the Gnostic Gospels - were bypassed. Which is why so much of Christian flavor derives from pagan practices - to appease the many factions attending the First Council. No one likes to think their "religion" was made up whole cloth by a bunch of jerks 300 years after the guy around which that "religion" is build had died especially when all the written texts available at the time that disavowed his divinity were wholeheartedly discarded. These are the same jerks, by the way, who decided women were inferior so, why women flock to this "religion" will always be a bafflement to me!

Name: Roger Burr
Date posted: 2008-11-11 5:44 PM
Hometown: Marble Hill, MO

Comment:

I watch Keith Olbermans show, 'Countdown' every evening. He is one of the few voices of intelligent reason among todays news commentators. I wouldn't miss his program, now followed up by Rachael Maddow and her show. As a gay man I applaud Keiths stand on LGBT rights and his annoyance over the passage of Prop. 8, and others. He is an intelligent man who realizes, as few others seem to, that this IS an issue of the heart; NOT based on anyones personal or religious views. To deprive people of the ultimate expression of LOVE; a commodity in short supply in todays world, is simply WRONG regardless of ones religious views. As with so many other issues; I take my hat off to Keith Olberman and any others who are helping us fight the good fight for full equality. God Bless him!

Name: Christian
Date posted: 2008-11-11 4:47 PM
Hometown: West Haven Ut

Comment:

To Miike, Freedom of religion is the freedom to convert or pursuad others of your belief. All the church has done is voiced the side for which they stand. And people have freely acted. I think its sad you fought for something you don't understand. If you are to silence a church because of their opinion you are taking away their freedom. I urge religions everywhere to stand up against gay marriage as it is contrary to the teaching of Jesus Christ. The commandment God gave Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden to multiply and replenish the earth is still in force. And gays cannot keep that commandment. Naturally that is. Please religius people everywhere if you even think it is wrong, fight against it. Be not ye therefore ashamed of the testimony of our lord. Thanks

Name: Christian
Date posted: 2008-11-11 4:45 PM
Hometown: West Haven Ut

Comment:

Name: Christian
Date posted: 2008-11-11 4:40 PM
Hometown: West Haven Ut

Comment:

Name: Mike
Date posted: 2008-11-11 3:20 PM
Hometown: Sacramento

Comment:

As a veteran, who served alongside the myriad flavors of human, I have to say that it's distressing that I actually put my life on the line to preserve a constitution that has since been hijacked by religious idiots. State-level or not, this is a Jim Crowe law, pure and simple. That the black community not only remained silent but actually voted a high percentage in favor must be utterly revolting the those intelligent blacks that know what forces are at play here. MLK Jr. must be rolling around in his grave right now. As for your bible, davie... How many people do we see exiled for laying eyes on their woman's menses these days? Not too many? Same part of the bible dude... Your antiquated superstitions are not only obsolete, they're plainly obscene. Please understand that the majority of secular society looks at people like you the same way you look at tribes in new guinea that oohh and ahhh at the butane lighter. Get a clue man.

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