CONTACTAbout UsCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2025 Equal Entertainment LLC.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
We need your help
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.
Alan Keyes and Barack Obama both oppose marriage for gays and lesbians, but the issue produced some of the most confrontational moments of the third and final debate of their battle for the U.S. Senate in Illinois. Obama criticized Keyes's argument that the children of gay couples, if born from artificial means and kept in the dark about their biological parents, could later end up unknowingly having sex with a relative. Calling it "a vicious attack," he claimed the argument was a subtle attempt to link homosexuality with incest. Keyes accused Obama of denying his logic because he didn't like the conclusion. "If you can't know who your sisters and brothers are, there is no way you could avoid having sexual relations with them," the Republican former United Nations ambassador said. "I know that Senator Obama sometimes has a hard time getting from A to B." "I think your logic was not that complicated. It was just wrong," Obama shot back moments later. Obama, a Democratic state senator, sought to show Keyes as out of step even with many conservatives by noting that he and President Bush both support civil unions for gay couples, while Keyes opposes them. But Obama struggled to explain what in his own religious beliefs leads him to oppose gay marriage. He condemned bigotry against gays and said he believes homosexuality is generally "innate" rather than a choice. But he did not offer a clear explanation of why gay couples should not then have the right to marry beyond saying that the traditional definition of marriage should be preserved. Keyes reiterated his position that gay couples should not marry because same-sex couples cannot conceive children naturally.
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Watch Now: Pride Today
Latest Stories
Congress members demand that EEOC address gender identity discrimination
June 13 2025 5:26 PM
LGBTQ+ immigrants face 'most immediate risk' of ICE raids in Los Angeles
June 13 2025 3:21 PM
'No Kings' protests: What to know about the June 14 rallies against Trump
June 13 2025 12:48 PM
The road to Obergefell: Looking back on a decade of marriage equality
June 13 2025 9:30 AM
California sues Trump admin over threats to trans athletes
June 13 2025 7:00 AM
Trading camo for couture, why I refuse to disappear in Trump’s America
June 13 2025 6:00 AM
Gay congressman confronts Pete Hegseth over Harvey Milk ship, military diversity
June 12 2025 9:15 PM
Iowa bans Medicaid from covering gender-affirming care for adults
June 12 2025 5:11 PM