Obama's bold stand for LGBT rights in Kenya

President Obama is on a trip to Africa, including a visit to Kenya, home of his father's family.  In a joint news conference with Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, Obama spoke out forcefully for LGBT rights.   In Kenya, as in many African countries, simply being gay is illegal.

"I believe in the principle of treating people equally under the law, and that they are deserving of equal protection under the law and that the state should not discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation. . . .  I'm unequivocal on this. . . .  the idea that they are gonna be treated differently or abused because of who they love is wrong, full stop."

He added: 

"When a government gets in the habit of treating people differently, those habits can spread. And as an African-American in the United States, I am painfully aware of what happens when people are treated differently under the law. . . .  All sorts of rationalizations were provided by the power structure for decades in the United States for segregation and Jim Crow and slavery and they were wrong."

President Kenyatta appeared unruffled by this.   He told reporters: 

"There are some things that we must admit we don't share. Our culture, our societies don't accept. . . .  This is why I repeatedly say that for Kenyans today, the issue of gay rights is really a non-issue. We want to focus on other areas that are day-to-day living for our people. . . .

"Maybe once we overcome some of these challenges [status of women, the economy, health, infrastructure] we can begin to look at new ones."

Ever since he got past the 2014 midterm elections, we are seeing Obama Unleashed.   As the old saying goes, "freedom means having nothing left to lose."

Ralph