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Actions speak louder than words.

He could go all out to tell refugees from places like Uganda and Iran that murder GLBT folks that they’d be welcomed with open arms in the US. He’d order Hillary Clinton to open the gates of all US embassies and consulates to people in danger of being tortured and murdered.

My point exactly. If he had done this along with signing the declaration, my ears would perk up a bit.

“I will be a fierce advocate for gays and lesbians.” Our side did not say that, Obama did. Not fierce at all, IMO.

The President has the constitutional authority to alter the implementation of the statute. Article II, § 2 identifies the President as the:
Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States’ and the Supreme Court has stated unequivocally that the President has the prerogative to establish rules and regulations for the armed forces.

The truth is that he pandered to bigots from day one and continues to do so. He torpedoed our chances on Prop 8 and rewarded cult bigot Warren at the Inaugural. He’s chosen a ‘spiritual advisory council’ from the worst bigots in the country and he’s hiring prayer writers not just speech writers. We have to wonder if the White House budget includes séances table and Ouija boards. Obama appointed his Minister of Pandering, the most reverend Joshua Dubois to head up his Ministry of Bribery, aka, doling out billions to grubby sky pilots, pastors and priests via ‘faith based’ charities. Dubois is a pentecostal minister like Leah Daughtry who enforces anti-GLBT policy at the DNC.

This was an easy maneuver for Obama. If he wanted to do something real for us in international relations there are two easy steps he could take immediately.

He could go all out to tell refugees from places like Uganda and Iran that murder GLBT folks that they’d be welcomed with open arms in the US. He’d order Hillary Clinton to open the gates of all US embassies and consulates to people in danger of being tortured and murdered.
He could permanently break diplomatic relations with the catholic cult at the Vatican. They’re bigots, they actually murder people when they oppose the use of condoms to limit the spread of HIV/AIDS and the pope is a Nazi.

Don’t hold you breathe.

If this announcement were combined with a stinging condemnation of some of the outright atrocities against LGBTs around the world (e.g. Uganda, Iran, Russia) or an announcement from Pelosi that the Matthew Sheperd Act or ENDA are moving to the top of the priority list then this announcement would at least seem like it had some real teeth to it.

Again: “Since the DADT law was established in 1993, over 12,500 men and women have been discharged because of their sexual orientation. According to a 2007 report by the Williams Institute, DADT has also discouraged nearly 45,000 Americans from joining and remaining in the armed forces. ”

DADT is a federal LAW, not a policy enacted by executive order.

You may not like the facts as they are but you can’t change them to suit your desires.

Also, it’s a cheap shot blaming Obama for AIG given that it was the Bush Administration that started the bailout of AIG. That bailout was largely done after the collapse of Lehman Brothers sent Wall Street into a tailspin. AIG’s collapse is theorized to bring down the European banking system. So, a lifeline was tossed. Sadly, the crooks on Wall Street haven’t gotten the message. It’s time to nationalize the sucker and clean house.

No, you are wrong. DADT is a FEDERAL LAW! It was not done with an executive order! Harry Truman used an executive order to ban segregation in the armed forces. You are mixing your history.

From the Service Members Legal Defense Fund:
“WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) announced that it will participate in an interactive speakers’ panel at The University of Richmond Law School to discuss the federal law known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), which bans gay and lesbian people from serving openly in the military. In recent weeks national media attention surrounding DADT repeal efforts has grown, as President Obama reiterated his support for lifting this discriminatory ban. Seismic shifts in popular opinion over the last 15 years as well as renewed political momentum for repeal show that lifting the ban on open service for gays and lesbians is doable in 2009.”

http://www.sldn.org/news/archi.....dt-repeal/

DADT is a LAW. That means that it has to be repealed.

No matter how much you want facts to be otherwise, DADT is not an executive order, it is a federal law requiring federal law to repeal it or a U.S. Court to strike it down.

And this is exactly the point I’m trying to make. For all those who keep saying Obama can’t do anything right now, or it’s too soon, or he will do it later – I have to ask, WHEN? When will this time come when it won’t be hard to accomplish or will be conveniant for Obama to act? When? Did he not promise to fight on our behalf (repeatedly, over and over again)? Do you actually think that in a year or two when Obama is getting ready to run for re-election that he will suddenly decide now is the time to stand up against the bigots?

Blake, you are misinformed, try using something a bit more concrete than Wikipedia for your research. DADT was enacted under the executive order by Bill Clinton. That is a fact. And Obama has the power to rescind that executive order.

And we all know what happens when shitty legislation gets written in a matter of hastiness (helllooooo Prop 8 in Calif and especially Amendment 2 in Florida). I’m not saying Obama should be easily let off the hook, but he’s just reached the midpoint of his first 100 days. While DADT and DOMA need to be repealed soon, there’s this big crazy financial mess that the administration is grappling with. Perhaps you’ve heard about it.

Wayne, I’m not the biggest fan of Bill Clinton’s but it was definitely more complex than that. Clinton sure as heck did not the to go through Congress; he was CRUSHED by the opposition (Democrats and Republicans) that forced DADT to become a law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DADT

Again, I’m not advocating a go-along-to-get-along policy with Obama. I just don’t think that it’s fair to jump on him 6 weeks into his presidency. There are better ways to influence him and Congressional forces.

Also, different people have different priorities in terms of civil rights, I’m more concerned about ENDA. That provides more benefits to GLBT Americans. Since it would also end workplace discrimination, that would also be a good launch point and legal framework to tackle DADT. However, everyone has his/her hot issues.

@Wayne
DADT is federal law. Obama does not have the power through executive order to end DADT. That is a well established fact. Do your research.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DADT

Obama’s choice of OPM Director is John Berry, who is (relatively) openly gay. The OPM Chief Counsel is also going to be lesbian (Elana Kagan).

http://buckmire.blogspot.com/2.....obama.html

Obama has the power, but don’t expect him to use it to help the Gay Equality movement.

In case you didn’t know, the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy was enacted under the executive order of President Clinton.

I am annoyed that both the tone of this article and many of the comments seek to minimize that this is a significant, pro-gay action taken by this administration.

I am also incredulous that any gay is stupid enough at this point to keep trashing Hilary Clinton. That she would have been infinitely worse as president is just as obvious as the fact that she is much better at treating gay people respectfully than Obama is. How fucking retarded do you have to be a gay person who hates the most vocally pro-gay Secretary of State?

There’s a difference between the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and the Bush tax cuts. One was an executive order, the other was an act of congress. Obama can reverse the former with an executive order but it would be illegal to try the same with the latter.

DOMA, just like DADT, are legislative acts passed by congress and signed into law by a president. Their repeals must be enacted the same way.

Can Obama as president do certain things to weaken and circumvent laws? He sure can. The question is to what extent backing those California federal appeals court judges would go. That’s not something that can be decided with one quote from one lawyer in a New York Times article.

Obama promised that he’d repeal DOMA…”

EXACTLY, Obama promised to end DOMA promised to constantly fight against DOMA called DOMA an insult to gay Americans. Obama SAID a lot, but as president he is doing the EXACT opposite of what he promised. Not to mention how he has caved on DADT or how Obama made sure to bend over backwards for Rick Warren.

Really? And where are your legal references and sources to back that assertion up? The President has broad powers including executive orders (which Obama has used to reverse some of Bush’s polices, but doesn’t seem inclined to do so when it comes to LGBT issues).

“.. and siding with those federal appeals judges against the law might cause a shit storm”

oh, I didn’t realize that Obama should only stand up for the equality of gay Americans when it doesn’t “cause a shit storm” I guess we are supposed to just wait for that time to come?

Obama promised that he’d repeal DOMA. And when the legislation passes through both houses of congress and makes it to his desk, he’ll sign it as promised. He can’t do anything without congressional approval and siding with those federal appeals judges against the law might cause a shit storm.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Obama himself already have his degree in law when he stated his position and made those promises to end DOMA? Seems Richard Socarides had some company in constitutional theory, and at one time his name was Obama. But I guess that’s one thing that has seen some “Change

He is one lawyer with one interpretation of DOMA in relation to Obama’s powers as president. It’s not written in stone.

Obama promised that he’d repeal DOMA. And when the legislation passes through both houses of congress and makes it to his desk, he’ll sign it as promised. He can’t do anything without congressional approval and siding with those federal appeals judges against the law might cause a shit storm.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Obama himself already have his degree in law when he stated his position and made those promises to end DOMA? Seems Richard Socarides had some company in constitutional theory, and at one time his name was Obama. But I guess that’s one thing that has seen some “Change”

and I would remind you of Obama’s own words. He was the one who said he would repeal all of DOMA, he vowed to do so REPEATEDLY during the campaign.He called it an “insult” He said he would constantly “fight against” DOMA. But now that a judge has ruled it unconstitutional, Obama is disagreeing and is actually citing DOMA!!!! It’s the exact opposite of what he promised to do!!!

“But Richard Socarides, a New York lawyer who was an adviser to President Bill Clinton on gay issues, said he believed that Mr. Obama ‘has broad discretionary authority to find ways to ameliorate some of the more blatant examples of discrimination.’”

And that may very well be, though you could easily have another lawyer say the exact opposite. The law is subject to wide interpretation and Obama and his team must sift through all of the facts before coming to a decision. Whatever he does could have broad implications for the future.

Or he may just defer it until he and congress can repeal DOMA.

And yet it was Obama himself who promised to end DOMA (he repeatedly promised to constantly “fight hard to end DOMA”. And yet as president (even though several constitutional experts say the president has wide discrecionary powers to act) Obama has instead allowed his own administration to cite DOMA as their cause to deny the judges order! How in any way shape or form does that even resemble Obama keeping his promise to the Gay community?

I should say, DOMA is still the law and might need to be enforced depending on how Obama and his legal team interprets this case.

Did you really think we were going to get more than token gestures in the much-touted “first 100 days”? I sympathize with your disappointment, but I personally interpreted “Change we can believe in” to mean not a whole hell of a lot of change, because who could believe in REAL change after the shitstorm of the last 8 years? Any body of government that could allow that kind of shit to go down without lifting a finger to interfere surely does not have the best interests of its citizens as a major priority.

I’ll read the article later this evening when my time is less constrained. Thanks for the link.

The Office of Personnel Management, the agency identified in the article you cited, is meant to act independently. It’s not under the personal control of President Obama and his choice of director hasn’t even been confirmed yet.

According to the New York Times,

“Now, Mr. Obama is in a tough spot. If he supports the personnel office on denying benefits to the San Francisco court employees, he risks agitating liberal groups that helped him win election. If he supports the judges and challenges the marriage act, he risks alienating Republicans with whom he is seeking to work on economic, health care and numerous other matters.”

So where do you get the idea that Obama is standing behind and enforcing DOMA? The OPM didn’t make a decision on his behalf, it was the agency’s own decision based on the law that Clinton signed in 1996. That’s what they have to go by. Obama has yet to decide whether to back OPM or the federal appeals court judges. That decision will have to be based on the law, not his personal feelings about rights for same sex couples. DOMA still stands and must be enforced whether he likes it or not.