The twenty-first century catchphrase, “yes we can,” has an all-American, sea-to-shining sea warmth about it. Those three words empower every American to feel as though anything is possible.

Unless, of course, that American happens to be openly gay.

The official slogan for gay Americans could very well be “no we cannot.” Openly gay Americans are excluded from a multitude of opportunities – most notably the right to serve in the military and the right to marry one’s loved one.

The sickeningly ironic thing about the discriminatory nature of “yes we can” is that its very innovator, Barack Obama, is the same man who actively excludes gay Americans from its triumphal connotation.

In his seven months in office, President Obama has done virtually nothing to further the cause of gay rights. Indeed, Obama is arguably the most visual deterrent to the advancement of gay rights. He has publicly stated on numerous occasions that he opposes the legal sanctioning of gay marriage.

Obama’s disapprobation of gay marriage is extremely disheartening. His public disapproval of gay marriage sends a clear and distinct message that harboring amoral and undemocratic ideals is an acceptable facet of the twenty-first century American Democratic Party.

Essentially, Obama is single-

handedly endorsing the notion that

gay Americans are somehow less worthy people simply because they are gay.

The most upsetting part of Obama’s bigotry is the rampant hypocrisy that characterizes it. In a political, tip-toe, watch-what-you-say kind of way, Obama has linked his disapproval of gay marriage to scriptural authority.

Yet, four decades ago, white supremacists referred to this very scripture to denounce the legitimacy and highlight the immorality of interracial marriages. Obama, is, of course, a product of one these marriages.

The hypocrisy doesn’t stop there: during his campaign season, Obama often invoked the memory of Martin Luther King Jr., paralleling his ideals with those of the noble civil rights activist.

Yet King had the courage to ferociously challenge the status quo.

When Obama is presented with an amazing opportunity to enact change and propagate civil rights, he cowers in a corner. Obama also paired his political ideas with those of John Lewis and Ted Kennedy in an all-too-transparent effort to link his name with two of America’s most beloved politicians.

Never mind the fact that both Lewis and Kennedy are staunch advocates for the legalization of gay marriage.

Some of Obama’s followers continue to have hope, suggesting that Obama does indeed believe in gay marriage, but that he is simply waiting until he is re-elected in 2012 to publicly state so.

If this is the case, Obama is pushing gay Americans further and further into the margins of society for the sake of political expediency. It’s hard to think of something more ignoble.

He either doesn’t believe in the merit of gay marriage or he is waiting until a later date to announce that he does. Either way, Obama’s reluctance to accept homosexuality is either a product of cowardice or immoral conviction, both of which are despicable traits.

America’s citizens, gay and straight alike, deserve more from their leader.

- Zach Nikonovich-Kahn is a senior from Atlanta majoring in history.