All of a sudden, Barack Obama is cool again. And a gay technicolor dreamboat. Following his interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts wherein he confessed that his “evolving” stance on gay marriage (which moves at an already glacial pace) meant that he presently believes gay people should be allowed to marry, the press went wild. Obama’s iconic red and blue posters were reformatted with over the top rainbows and halos, and the whooping of progressives was hard to contain. Finally, as it seemed to much of the nation’s more liberal ilk, America was back on track toward social equality. But if you think that Obama’s moment of candidness on morning TV news is really going to silence the shrill social conservative cant against gay marriage, think again.

While it is true that Obama did say he personally was in favor of gay marriage, he mentioned nothing about its legality at the federal level. Rather, he explicitly proposed the opposite—that the issue of gay marriage should still be left to individual states. Which is exactly how it is today. And how it was yesterday. And how it has been for over 15 years since the constitutionally-contentious Defense of Marriage Act federally defined marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman. In other words, the only thing that has changed is one politician’s stance during election season—and that’s hardly uncommon.

Instead of believing the tired fable that the United States is the harbinger of liberty and justice for all, look at the facts. Same-sex marriage is carried out in ten countries, none of which include the allegedly progressive United States. Add to that list 23 more countries that allow same-sex domestic partnerships or civil unions, and you still won’t find the US. More abundant than the Harvey Milks of yore are the fervent and fire-eyed Michele Bachmann types who actually equate gayness with Satan.

The cries against gay marriage are familiar: if two heathens are even given the option to manifest their love in the same ways two heterosexual non-heathens are, the traditional family will be broken. The number of marriages will increase, which will irrevocably damage and devalue this so-called sacred currency. Worst of all, God will be unhappy. Pay no mind to the fact that many of the countries that allow same-sex marriage or civil unions also have established (predominantly Christian) and/or state-run religions, or that you don’t read stories about an angry God smiting gay Canadian couples while on their honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas; things are different in America. The American God is more discerning. And for that matter, the American God is that much more damning.