Categories
Blog

My Gay Marriage Cartoons

President Obama’s decision to come out this week in support of Gay Marriage caps a decade-long shift in the acceptance of same-sex couples in this country. Obviously, there are many religious groups and individuals that will never support the idea of two men shacking up, but the polling data is pretty interesting.

[ View our complete collection of Obama Gay Marriage cartoons

When the Defense of Marriage Act was signed in 1996, only 25 percent of the American public supported same-sex marriage. Since then, support has increased gradually until an August 2010 CNN poll showed majority support for same-sex marriage, where it has remained ever since.

I decided to look back into my archives. To my surprise, I’ve drawn a great number of cartoons dealing with the idea of gay marriage.

Here’s the cartoon I drew after gay marriage was legalized in California…

Here’s a cartoon I drew after the military repealed its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy…

This is a cartoon I drew after two sex scandals rocked the GOP – one involving a congressman hiring a prostitute, and the other involving gay sex and a bathroom stall. You might guess how the reactions differed…

While society’s view of same-sex marriage has changed over the years, the GOP’s wardrobe has remained stuck in time…

Here’s a cartoon I drew back in 2004 when gay marriage became legal in Massachusetts…

And here’s how I imagined baptist preachers might respond to the growing trend of same-sex marriages…

And because no discussion of gay marriage is complete without Bert and Ernie…

Categories
Blog

Best Political Cartoons of the Week

Every Friday, we collect the best political cartoons of the week and stuff them into one big, glorious slideshow.

So just relax and catch up on a week’s worth of news with our Best Cartoons of the Week slideshow.

John Cole / Scranton Times-Tribune (click to launch slideshow)
Categories
Blog

Obama's Gay Marriage Evolution – Five Cartoons

President Obama’s decision to complete his “evolution” on the issue of same-sex marriage has created a media feeding frenzy, and momentarily shifted the debate from the economy and jobs.

[ View all our cartooons about Obama and Same-Sex Marriage ]  

The timing for Obama is odd, who was obviously forced to announce his position after Vice President Joe Biden openly supported same-sex marriage on “Meet the Press” on Sunday. I bet gay voters in North Carolina would have appreciated Obama’s support sooner, rather than wait until the day after the state voted to ban all same-sex marriages and civil unions.

This will obviously be a huge issue in this campaign, so you can expect a lot of cartoons on the subject. Here are some initial reactions about Obama’s metamorphosis, including my own…

Daryl Cagle / msnbc.com (click to view more cartoons by Cagle)
Mike Keefe / Cagle Cartoons (click to view more cartoons by Keefe)
Rob Tornoe / PoliticalCartoons.com (click to view more cartoons by Tornoe)
Cam Cardow / Ottawa Citizen (click to view more cartoons by Cardow)
R.J. Matson / St. Louis Post-Dispatch (click to view more cartoons by Matson)
Categories
Blog Featured

Iranian Cartoonist Sentenced to 25 Lashings

There is disturbing news to report from Iran, where cartoonist Mahmoud Shokraiyeh has been sentenced to 25 lashings for drawing a member of parliament wearing a football jersey. That’s right – he’s going to be whipped for drawing a cartoon.

While it’s nothing new for repressive governments to crack down on press freedoms and punish cartoonists, in Iran this incident seems like an escalation not only because of the harsh punishment, but because Shokraiyeh’s cartoon didn’t have anything to do with religious issues.

Even more unsettling is that under Chapter 27 of the “Islamic Penal Code of Iran,” anyone who “wrongfully” libels through print media can be subjected to “74 lashes” and imprisonment from one month to a year.

For more insight, I turned to my good friend Nik Kowsar, an Iranian cartoonist now living in Washington, D.C. who was imprisoned for depicting Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi as a crocodile:

—–

When writing about cartooning in Iran, I always think back to the cartoon I drew that literally changed my life. Though I had not directly portrayed an Ayatollah, by drawing a crying crocodile as the main enemy of the press and using a name that rhymed with the name of that powerful cleric, it was obvious I was messing with the most powerful class in Iran.

Cartoonists had been told not to draw Ayatollahs. Even though the constitution is silent about poking fun at clerics, judges have the power to interpret the law as they wish. By making fun of the Islamic dress code, in their point of view, you are insulting the religion, and insulting the religion is a crime based on the Islamic Penal Code. Many have lost their lives over the years by simply making fun of some symbols or making jokes about the prophet and the Imams.

In 2009, I asked (via email) Grand Ayatollah Montazeri (who died months later) if based on his interpretation of Islam, was it OK to draw Grand Ayatollahs in cartoons or not. He said that as long as you are not insulting a person, there are no objections to drawing that individual. This was sort of a “Fatwa” (a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law), though I had only asked for his opinion.

Still, no one inside Iran dares draw an Ayatollah, and until a few days ago, it was totally OK to draw cartoons of non-cleric officials. Now, Iranian cartoonist Mahmoud Shokrayeh has been sentenced to 25 lashes because he drew a caricature of Ahmad Lotfi Ashtiani, a member of the Iranian parliament, wearing a soccer jersey.

One thing interesting about Shokrayeh’s cartoon is the dark skinned mark on Lotfi Ashtiani’s forehead. In Islamic countries, this is the sign of “praying too much”. Rubbing the forehead on the ground during prayer for years and years does this. You can see it on many Islamist leaders’ faces.

Last week, while attending UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day’s conference in Tunis, I noticed the Tunisian prime minister had been praying too too much. A Tunisian cartoonist present at the conference, drawing live on a pad, intentionally drew the dark mark on the prime minister’s forehead. Including this interesting religious symbol in his cartoon might have been seen by the Iranian court as insulting.

Now, Iranian cartoonists who are living outside of Iran, in solidarity with their colleague, are drawing caricatures of the insulted MP Lotfi Ashtian. Iranian cartoonist Mana Neyestani, who was imprisoned for his cartoons in 2006, has invited other cartoonists to draw in support of Mahmoud Shokrayeh.

In one of the cartoons, the cartoonist suggests that Mahmoud Shokrayeh’s caricature looks much better than the MP, and the MP should be lashed because of making fun of the cartoon.

It is important to note that if the ruling takes place and the judgement is not set aside, any cartoonist in Iran will have to fear at least 25 lashes on his back if he happens to insult public official.

—–

I had a couple of questions for Nik. Why did Shokraiyeh draw the MP in a soccer jersey? The MP was interested in bringing soccer clubs to the city of Arak. Nik said, “Imagine if LA Lakers move from LA to SF and turn into SF Lakers.”

I asked Nik how the lashings work and if Shokraiyeh was in prison pending his punishment. Nik responded to say that Shokraiyeh was not imprisoned and the lashings are done by appointment; Shokraiyeh will be called and given a time to come in to get his lashings, then he can leave (kind of like a trip to the dentist for a root canal, I guess).

Here are some of the cartoons drawn by Iranian cartoonists in solidarity with Mahmoud Shokrayeh over the lashing decision:

Categories
Blog

Happy Birthday to American Editorial Cartooning

On this day back in 1754, Benjamin Franklin’s now-famous “Join or Die” woodcut cartoon was first published in his Pennsylvania Gazette newspaper. The cartoon, which showed a snaked severed into eight segments each representing a British American colony or region, was meant to inspire unity among the colonies before the French and Indian War. Later, it became an important symbol of colonial freedom during the Revolutionary War.

Interestingly, Franklin chose to represent all of New England as one segment, as opposed to the four colonies it was at the time. He also omitted Delaware and Georgia completely. Even back in the 18th century, space was tight for cartoons.

It’s also a learning lesson for editors about the power of cartoons. Along with the cartoon, Franklin wrote an editorial about the “disunited state” of the colonies to drive home the importance of colonial unity. Over 250 years later, Franklin’s column is long forgotten, but his cartoon is still as popular as ever.

Here’s how it appeared back in 1754:

Click to enlarge

 

Categories
Blog

North Carolina's Gay Marriage Ban

Today voters in North Carolina’s primary get to decide whether to approve a state constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage and civil unions.

John Cole, the teriffic staff cartoonist for the Scranton Times-Tribune, spent years drawing cartoons about North Carolina’s wacky political scene for the Durham Herald-Sun. Even though he moved to Pennsylvania, he still draws a cartoon a week for North Carolina Policy Watch. He’s drawn several cartoons about Amendment One, so I asked him to weigh in with this thoughts:

North Carolina always had this feel about it that’s different from a lot of other Southern states. It combined forward-thinking progressivism (exemplified by guys like Jim Hunt, Terry Sanford and Bill Friday), a booming modern high-tech-based knowledge economy and the more traditional social conservatism of pols like Jesse Helms. These things more or less held each other in balance for years. Amendment One upsets that balance and represents a huge step backward for a state that I’ve generally regarded as more open toward and tolerant of differing views and lifestyles.

Here are John’s cartoons about the potential Gay Marriage ban in North Carolina. What do you think – right move or drastic overstep? Comment below or give us your thoughts on our Facebook page.



Categories
Blog Featured

Does Biden Make Obama Look Bad on Gay Marriage?

On yesterday’s “Meet the Press,” Vice President Joe Biden told host David Gregory that he is “absolutely comfortable with… men marrying men, women marrying women.” Biden gave credit to the TV show “Will & Grace”, which featured numerous openly-gay characters, for helping change his position.

This puts him at odds with President Obama, who supports gay rights but has said repeatedly that he believe marriage should be between a man and a woman. He has also noted that his views on the matter are evolving.

Here are some cartoons about the contentious issue. What do you think – should same-sex couples be allowed to marry each other? Comment below or drop a note on our Facebook page.

Jimmy Margulies / The Record (click to view more cartoons by Margulies)
Chris Weyant / The Hill (click to view more cartoons by Weyant)
Rob Tornoe / PoliticalCartoons.com (click to view more cartoons by Tornoe)
Pat Bagley / Salt Lake Tribune (click to view more cartoons by Bagley)
David Fitzsimmons / Arizona Daily Star (click to view more cartoons by Fitzsimmons)
Andy Singer / PoliticalCartoons.com (click to view more cartoons by Singer)
Categories
Blog

Sarkozy Out: Five Cartoons

Over the weekend, cartoon-friendly French President Nicolas Sarkozy lost his re-election bid to Socialist candidate Francois Hollande. By rejecting Sarkozy, the French also rejected austerity measures that have been enacted across Eurpope to combat the debt crisis. Now they turn to their first Socialist president in 17 years to fix their financial house and get people working again.

Here’s my cartoon about Sarkozy’s exit, and four others from some of our best world cartoonists, who tend to care more about these things than our American counterparts…

Daryl Cagle / msnbc.com (click to view more cartoons by Cagle)
Patrick Chappattee / Switzerland, PoliticalCartoons.com (click to view more cartoons by Chappatte)
Martin Sutovec / Slovakia, PoliticalCartoons.com (click to view more cartoons by Sutovec)
Petar Pismestrovic / Austria, PoliticalCartoons.com (click to view more cartoons by Pismestrovic)
Joep Bertrams / The Netherlands, PoliticalCartoons.com (click to view more cartoons by Bertrams)
Categories
Blog

Stagnant Job Growth – Five Cartoons

U.S. employers may have added 115,000 jobs in April, but that was the smallest number in six months, and much lower than economics expected. Even though the unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent, it was mostly due to more people leaving the workforce entirely (nearly 350,000 of them).

None of this is good news for the nation’s unemployed, looking to decide on which candidate has the best plan to steer them to a steady job and a paycheck. Here are five timely cartoons about the struggle our economy still has…

Daryl Cagle / msnbc.com (click to view more cartoons by Cagle)
Pat Bagley / Salt Lake Tribune (click to view more cartoons by Bagley)
Jeff Parker / Florida Today (click to view more cartoons by Parker)
R.J. Matson / St. Louis Post-Dispatch (click to view more cartoons by Matson)
Eric Allie / Cagle Cartoons (click to view more cartoons by Allie)
Categories
Blog

Best Political Cartoons of the Week

Every Friday, we collect the best political cartoons of the week and stuff them into one big, glorious slideshow.

So just relax and catch up on a week’s worth of news with our Best Cartoons of the Week slideshow.

Nate Beeler / Columbus Dispatch (click to start slideshow)
Categories
Blog Featured

The Case of Chinese Activist Chen Guangcheng

There is a tense international situation developing in China surrounding blind activist Chen Guangcheng. Chen, who served time in prison for exposing forced abortions and sterilizations being done to comply with China’s one-child policy, escaped from house arrest early this week and was being given refuge at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Here’s the first cartoon I drew on the subject:

Once the Chinese government found out about U.S. involvement, they demanded that the U.S. apologize for meddling in its affairs, and according to reports, threatened the safety of Chen’s family. According to Chen, U.S. officials promised that at least one representative would stay with him at the hospital where he was being treated for an injury he received while escaping. But once he was brought to the hospital room, they all left, and now have no access to the activist.

The New York Times reported the Obama administration was “exposed to criticism from Republicans and human rights groups that it had rushed to resolve a delicate human rights case so that it would not overshadow other matters on the bilateral agenda,” such as the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs and China’s currency and trade policies.

So here is my new cartoon on the incident:

Chen now says he wants to leave China as soon as possible. “My fervent hope is that it would be possible for me and my family to leave for the U.S. on Hillary Clinton’s plane,” he told The Daily Beast.

What do you think we should do? Comment below or drop a line on our Facebook page.

Categories
Blog Featured

Is This The End For Rupert Murdoch?

The fallout from a phone hacking scandal that took down the popular News of the World newspaper in England continues to cloud the future of New Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch.

A UK parliamentary committee have declared the media mogul “unfit” to run his global media empire, which includes Fox News, The New York Post and The Wall Street Journal.

Think he’ll remain as the head of News Corporation? Here are five great cartoons about the future of Rupert Murdoch from some of the world’s top cartoonists…

Loujie / Cagle Cartoons (click to view more cartoons by Loujie)
Mike Keefe / Cagle Cartoons (click to view more cartoons by Keefe)
Cam Cardow / Ottawa Citizen (click to view more cartoons by Cardow)
Tim Eagan / PoliticalCartoons.com (click to view more cartoons by Eagan)
John Cole / Scranton Times-Tribune (click to view more cartoons by Cole)