"Huckabee: Obama more interested in appeasing gays than strengthening military" - Leah Messinger (period 1)

            The article I read about this week is about a very controversial topic. Obama announced on Friday that he was choosing Eric K. Fanning, who would be the first openly gay secretary of a U.S military branch, to lead the U.S Army. While this seems like an incredible step towards total equality in the LGBT community, many people are worried that Obama chose Fanning in the interest of appeasing the gays rather than in the interest of our country's safety. Mike Huckabee is one of those skeptical people who spoke out his concerns against Obama's decision. The article, however, does mention that Fanning has served as chief of staff to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, undersecretary of the Air Force, and deputy undersecretary of the Navy. When Huckabee's campaign was asked to comment on Fanning's previously mentioned qualifications, his response was not immediately returned. Obama released this statement on Friday to clear the air on the situation, "Eric brings many years of proven experience and exceptional to this new role," While Americans hope Obama made this decision for all the right reasons, some people, such as Huckabee, are still questioning his other motives.
           This can relate to U.S history because it is regarding the rights of certain groups of people in society. For instance, it took a long time for people to except African Americans and women as an equal part of society. Even after laws were passed to give them equal freedoms and opportunities, people were still hesitant to towards them. So, even though a law allowing marriage equality was passed this past summer, people are still skeptical of how big of a role they should be given in the workforce. Obama was taking a step in the right direction by not being afraid to nominate Fanning as secretary. However, if his sole purpose was to prove a point then he has elected him for the wrong reasons. If everyone is truly treated as equals, then the position should be given to the person who will do the best job. By the looks of Fanning's experience it seems that he is very qualified for this position and people should not be afraid of him leading our Army just because he is gay.


 http://www.kbzk.com/story/30070238/huckabee-obama-more-interested-in-appeasing-gays-than-strengthening-military