Why Im Meh About Rick Warren

John Cole over at Balloon Juice hits the ball out of the park about why Rick Warren giving the invocation at the inauguration doesn't give me the willies. Its about President Elect Barack Obama, not about Rick Warren.

I just heard Harry Knox from the Human Rights Campaign on CNN state that Barack Obama has just told gays and lesbians that they are not welcome. This is not only obnoxious and silly, but factually it is not the case:

Barack Obama and Gay Rights in Illinois:
Barack Obama supported gay rights during his Illinois Senate tenure. He sponsored legislation in Illinois that would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Barack Obama in the United States Senate:
Every two years the Human Rights Campaign, the largest national gay and lesbian organization, issues a scorecard for members of the Senate based on their sponsorship and voting on key issues of importance to gay and lesbian citizens. Barack Obama scored 89 out of 100% in the 2006 scorecard. Here’s how HRC rated Barack Obama:

Barack Obama on Hate Crimes:
Barack Obama co-sponsored legislation to expand federal hate crimes laws to include crimes perpetrated because of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Employment Non-Discrimination:
Barack Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and believes it should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

The list goes on over at Cole's site and I think this is needed for folks to keep their perspective in all this. I am concerned about policy not symbols and Obama has already shown himself to be a friend to the LGBT movement. For people to say otherwise is actually a slap to HIS face in my opinion.