Obama Evens It Up

Bishop Robinson and husband Mark Andrew

Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire has been invited to give the invocation at the opening ceremony of the presidential inauguration next Sunday, January 18, The Advocate reports.

Robinson has been partnered since 1988 with hubby Mark Andrew, and the couple were joined in a civil union ceremony last June. Robinson's 2003 ordination as Bishop of New Hampshire sent shockwaves through the worldwide Anglican Communion, helping precipitate the ongoing schism in that religious body.

Robinson's coming-out story is one of the subjects of the excellent 2007 documentary For the Bible Tells Me So, which I've recommended to Blue Truck readers before.

Although Robinson will not be part of the Inauguration proper - the swearing-in ceremony on the steps of the Capitol on Tuesday, January 20 - still, this is a major recognition of the gay community and I commend the President-elect for inviting Robinson to take part. Not only is it a shrewd political move, it's also the right thing to do.

So I feel much better about the Warren thing now. Ten years down the road, it won't even be remembered, except as a footnote in history books. We're going to make great progress towards full equality in this next decade, and all that homophobic thinking is going straight into the dustbin of history. God willing.