On the campaign trail, Barack Obama told voters he would support gay rights. Now that he’s president, he’s told us he would move to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. But when? When will he help strike down the Defense of Marriage Act? Critics of Obama say he’s moving too slowly; those who don’t want him to act argue he risks losing conservative support if he makes a move to actually support gay rights. Which begs the question: Is he more concerned about reaching across the aisle, or about making America a place where all citizens really are equal?
Here’s CNN’s report from yesterday.
Bless the lovely Karen England from the Capitol Resource Institute (which appears to have zero official presence, or at least a website), who fears allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military — sorry, permitting them to “flaunt” their sexuality — means the showers are going to become gang bang arenas.
rickroberts
Newsflash! Barack will not stand by us.
AWA
Don’t be so down about it. DADT will end soon!
Marco
“…Critics of Obama say he’s moving too slowly…”
Too slow? My god, he’s been in office for less than three months!
petted
Its resource not research.
http://www.capitolresource.org/
That clarification made Karen looks like a Thatcher wannabe except without that touch of British posh and she makes me want to throw-up.
petted
Is it just me or does anyone else feel like Karen failed basic reading comprehension tests in school?
Captain Freedom
I personally think we should give Barack a chance. You can see what the GOP hate machine is doing in Vermont. The Republican Governor is attacking the legislature saying that they are “ignoring the economy” to support gay rights.
Obama has to walk a tight-rope here. I agree with you all I want my rights and so do all of us and we don’t want to wait 20 or even 10 years. We want it now!
That said, Obama was opposed to DOMA back when 85/100 U.S. Senators (including Joe Biden) voted for it. Obama is not Bill Clinton #2. I say give him a chance. Before 2012 we will have ENDA (and an INCLUSIVE one), DADT DESTROYED, Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, and foreign domestic partnerships recognized. I believe we will also see a domestic partnership bill at the national level.
What we won’t see? Gay marriage legalized by Congress (unless Pelosi or someone with cahones pressures the members). We will probably not see DOMA overturned until 2016 unless SCOTUS overturns it. Gay Marriage will have to come from the Supreme Court. In that event, I see Obama appointing very liberal judges. I’ve already seen the list of potential appointees and they are very impressive. Among them is the dean of Harvard’s Law School. Once the court becomes more liberalized, you will see national lawsuits targeting DOMA and these Evangelical Nazi Amendments at the state levels.
Steve
Barnie Frank has power in this situation. He can insist that our bills pass, and are signed into law, before the House finance committee moves the Presidents agenda items. Want a budget?… Repeal DOMA first. Want a Stimulus?… Repeal DADT first. Want Banking Reform?… Medical Reform?… Finance Reform?… Almost everything has to go through Finance.
What I don’t understand is, whey hasn’t he already done this?
Matthew
The man in the above video advocating for the repeal of DADT has just released a book, Unfriendly Fire – http://www.unfriendlyfire.org.
blake
This is truly pathetic. Obama has only been in office less than 60 days.
What the hell do you expect him to do, wave a magic wand cure all of the social ills? Hello! DADT and DOMA are laws. To get laws overturned takes building coalition.
This posting is just another example of Queerty tossing red meat to the masses in hopes of stirring up crap to generate clicks.
BradK
@blake: It took Slick Willie, what, 6 whole months into his administration to put DADT in place. Yes by all means let’s wait. And wait. And wait…
mgh
ugh, how inane.
Those Ninth Circuit orders aren’t appealable to the Supreme Court. And one of them came from Chief Judge Kozinski, a Reagan appointeenot generally known as a liberal.
Neither of these people understand what’s going on, nor seem qualified to answer the questions.
John in CA
@Steve: Frank doesn’t want to incur the wrath of the Speaker. If he were in the Senate, he might be able to get away with it. But the House isn’t a ‘democracy.’ Pelosi sacked Jane Harman – the would be Chair of the Intelligence Committee – for much less.
And while Pelosi might be somewhat “sympathetic” to our cause, she isn’t about to lose 20 seats in the mid-terms because Barney Frank threw a temper tandrum.
I love rain
It’s such a radical social idea that a majority of americans think don’t ask don’t tell should be repealed….hrmmm cognitive dissidence much?
geoff
Pardon my ignorance but does Karen England look like a man in drag or what?
Jonathan
Blake has it exactly correct. Politics is like a three dinemsional bank account. He is spending much of his current balance on addressing issues that really matter, i.e. “it’s the economy stupid.” Do you really think our issues will get sunstantially addressed while he is trying to build political capital to all Americans? Bear in mind we are 5%, possibly a little more of the population. He is doing a good job of delivering on the promised agenda. Is it perfect? Probably not, but it is one helluva lot better than we have had for the previous eight years. And yes, Queerty’s posting was vacuous and did not present informative details as usual…but that is why we all read it! Plus the Morning Goods aren’t usually too bad.
Webster
Frank Rich gives some hope however in his NYT column:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/opinion/15rich.html
Wayne
I don’t suppose anyone wants to comment on Obama’s broken promise to the gay community on DOMA. He REPEATEDLY said he would end DOMA.Obama was even critical of Hillary Clinton, saying her position on DOMA didn’t go far enough! But the NYTimes is now reporting that Obama, now that he is president, is standing aside as the Federal Goverment cites DOMA as the reason they are refusing to obey a judges order to issue benefits to same-sex couples.
Still believe his pretty words about “Change”? If so, I’ve got a nice little bridge in Brooklyn that I’d love to sell you.
Wayne
ps. For those who keep saying Obama hasn’t had enough time to do anything, I’d remind you of these facts.
Since the election, the Gay Community has had the time to organize a Prop 8 protest movement that stretched across the country with marches in almost every major city and quite a few small towns as well. We mobilized to a degree not seen since Stonewall (A movement, by the way, that Obama neither commented on or bothered to support). But Obama had plenty of time to support and honor the bigot Rick Warren. And Obama has watched the clock tick as the Federal Government enforce DADT. And as the NYTimes is reporting, the Obama administration is now citing DOMA in their bid to deny a recent judges order to issue benefits to same-sex couples.
Time is not the issue.
Bill Perdue
@Steve: Barney Frank hasn’t done it because he works for the other side. He opposes moves to extend same sex marriage in places like California and he invited Republicans and bigoted Democrats to join him while he gutted ENDA. He accepted every amendment the Republicans submitted to ENDA, including one that specifically said that ENDA couldn’t be used to challenge DOMA.
With Democrats like Barney who needs Republicans.
As for Obama he’s a Clinton Clone. He promised to end military bigotry and ended up codifying it in DADT. Clinton promised to support us but personally rammed DOMA through Congress and then boasted about it on redneck religious stations to get votes. Considering Obama’s long record of pandering to bigots and his efforts to torpedo same sex marriage in California expect about the same or worse.
You won’t be disappointed.
jaybee
Sorry, Obama apologists: The prez has a crapload of political capital RIGHT NOW, more than he’ll enjoy for the rest of this term. If he wanted to do it, he’d do it now. What, he’ll wait till after the midterms, when his re-election effort kicks into high gear? Plus he has cover by recent statements supporting DADT repeal by Colin Powell and George Mitchell.We have to pressure him to do it NOW.
By the way, I think I saw Tony Perkins in a jockstrap on Manhunt…
Bill Perdue
@jaybee: “I think I saw Tony Perkins in a jockstrap on Manhunt…” You poor man. I hope you weren’t too nauseated.
Captain Freedom
@Steve:
With all due respect, Barney Frank is a COWARD. He has never shown any courage on LGBT legislation. He bent over along with the HRC so the “moderate Democrats” could strip transgender protections from ENDA and the Hate Crimes Bill. Isn’t it strange how he is from Massachusetts and has not married his boyfriend in the 5 years marriage has been legal there?
Why is he not getting married? Did Pelosi and the Establishment tell him it will hurt their image?
Frank is a coward. We have to rely on newer and younger members like Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Jared Polis (D-CO) if we ever hope to get our AGENDA passed.
blake
@BradK:
Are you really that ignorant? Clinton shot out of the gate with a gays in the military policy that was ill-considered and blew up in his face. It caused him a year’s worth of political nightmares whereas if he had spent the time to build a coalition, he could have gotten decent policy in place.
Read a frakking history book!
DADT was the opposite of what Clinton wanted! Moreover, the anti-gay forces used DADT as a springboard for DOMA and the GOP used anti-gay rhetoric from 1992 to 2008 to win elections. Hell, Bill Clinton ended up using anti-gay rhetoric to get elected in 1996 by running pro-DOMA radio ads in the South.
—-
It’s not a question of kissing anyone’s ass or playing nice with the Religious Right or the conservatives, it’s about having all of the proverbial ducks lined up. Does Obama have the votes in the House and the Senate to get the legislation passed?
Oh, there’s that word, “legislation.” He has to get a law passed. To get a law passed he has to get conservative Democrats inline and at least 2 Republican senators. Remember how the stimulus package was cut because so-called centrist Democrats aligned themselves with Republicans? It’s those same people that have to be brought into line.
Get it? Legislation is not going to spring forth and be on Obama’s desk to sign unless the votes are there. Obama saw how Clinton was crippled by not having a solid plan and he’s not going follow Clinton’s example. Only an idiot would do so.
Can any of you name the House and Senate representatives who are allies on advancing gay civil rights? Can you point out which legislators are working to get something passed? Do you understand that the Republicans still have the ability to filibuster any legislation they don’t like?
Frankly, I’m more concerned about ENDA than I am about DADT. More GLBT would immediately benefit from ENDA. But all people can scream about is DOMA, DADT, and marriage. Those are all important but they do not provide the blanket support to the most GLBT Americans that ENDA could. How many thousands of GLBT Americans were denied a job and housing across the U.S. because they have no federal or state laws in place to protect them?
Get your heads screwed on start thinking about how politicians think and act. Just because you want something done doesn’t mean that they will act. They have to be motivated and believe that they can win. What action have you taken to make it easier for passage of ENDA and the repeal of DOMA and DADT? Have you spoken to your legislators? Have you given money to allies?
Everyone and his sister wants something from Obama. Fine. GLBT Americans have to fight for their share, too. What makes any of us think that our issues are more important than those facing millions of other Americans? Read the statistics on who supported Obama. You’ll find that in terms of groups, Latinos, Asians, and African-Americans supported Obama in greater numbers than gays. Did anyone notice the number Asians who are now in significant position in the Obama cabinet? Do you think it is insignificant that the new secretary of labor is a Latina.
So, who has more push and sway with the administration? Latinos are the fastest growing minority group. Their leaders delivered about 90% for Obama. Hmm…Do you think that given the number of their votes and political and economic power, he might be pressed to respond to their needs also?
For all of the recent celebration of the movie “Milk,” how many people actually bothered to listen to how Harvey Milk fought and won his positions? He built coalitions. What are you doing to help build a coalition to ensure passage of gay civil rights legislation?
One of the problems I see with many Queerty readers is that they are oblivious to how politics works. Some are happily racist and are happy to say white supremacist things. Guess what, to win civil rights, you need the votes of the people you despise. Those Latinos, Asians, and African-Americans that some of you are quick to despise and criticize on the Morning Goods for not looking white enough for you, well, those are the same people who have to decide if they should support your legislation.
Take a step back and look at the stupidity that came out against Renee Martin as a result of Japhy’s interview with her when she advised that it might be a good strategy for gays to focus on building a coalition on ENDA. Instead she was attacked for not supporting marriage. Talk about being utterly stupid and missing the point. Martin suggested that gays could gain allies amongst straight people of color around issues of workplace discrimination. Her reward for common sense was screed after screed condemning her for not supporting marriage, entirely ignoring her support for gay civil rights in general.
Politics is about picking and choosing your friends for a particular fight.
—-
All that being said, it is up to GLBT Americans and their allies to pressure Obama to work for gay civil rights legislation. Offer advice. Make it easy for him to do the right thing.
However, jumping on and beating him up 6 weeks into his presidency and turning him into an enemy is stupid and plays right into the hands of the Right.
Wayne
Why should any of us dare expect Obama to actually keep his word? He promised to end DOMA (actually he promised it repeatedly on the campaign trail, and said he would constantly “fight hard” against DOMA many times as well) but now that the election is over the Obama administration actually cites DOMA in their bid to deny the recent California ruling that requires benefits to be issued to same-sex couples. It’s an absolute reversal of what he said he would do. It’s called betrayal.
Bill Perdue
Pretending that Obama is a newbie making a fresh start is willful ignorance. He’s dragging a lot of heavy baggage.
On same sex marriage, he once supported it, got burned and then fled to jeebuz and overnight became a bigot to get the bigot vote. That’s easily as sleazy as anything Bill Clinton or Rove did. Now Obama claims his pigheaded opposition to SSM is because “gawd’s in the mix”. Throughout his campaign, run by his Minister of Pandering, Joshua Dubois, from his revival meetings with Donnie McClurkin to his ass kissing performance for the southern baptists at Warrens’ Saddleback he’s put pandering front and center.
It paid off and he took big chunks of the christer vote from the republicans. According to Alexandra Marks of the Christian Science Monitor
In a real sense they elected him and they own him. Which is why he torpedoed SSM in California and requested additions billions to be added the obscenely swollen ‘faith based’ bribery office, which will be run by… you guessed it, Joshua Dubois.
Joshua Dubois, like the homophobe who runs the DNC, Leah Daughtry, is an ordained pentecostal minister.
blake
@Bill Perdue:
“Which is why he torpedoed SSM in California.”
I call bullsh@t. Blaming Obama for Prop 8 is about the lowest thing you can do given ALL of the facts that show who funded the Prop 8 efforts. How incredibly dishonest of you (especially in light of the revelation that Obama wrote a letter sent to the No Won Prop 8 team in which spoke out against Prop 8).
Who cares about facts? The Christian Right and Mormon Church had nothing to do with Prop 8 according to you. All that money spent for a disinformation campaign meant nothing. Nope, according to you, it was all about Obama. What a joke.
Nice of you to ignore the fact that 50% of eligible gay voters didn’t bother to show up at polls. Do you think that those votes might have made a difference?
Stef
I never understood this “social experiment” excuse. Last I checked, it wasn’t an experiment. 20 countries – including England and Canada – allow gays to openly serve in the military and there are no problems within those groups. So it’s not really an “experiment”. It’s not the US would be the ONLY ONES DOING IT, or that we have no proof that it doesn’t mess things up…
Stupid.
Bill Perdue
@blake: Blake, you’re invariably be wrong. “gawds’s in the mix”, Obamas ass kissing statement to pander to sourthern baptists was used by them, the mormons and catholics to defeat us.
Obama bellowed “gawd’s in the mix” over and over and and whispered in a a private letter to a SF Stonewall groups that he had a tactical difference with constitutional amendments. He never repudiated “gawd’s in the mix”. No on 8, a front group for the Dems, refused to call Obama on his bigotry.
The bottom line is if he hadn’t enabled and emboldened the bigots by telling them the thunder gods were bigots too, or if he’d repudiated it, or if No on 8 had called it a bigoted statement, we’d have won. We were leading near the end until Yes on 8 began using “gawd’s in the mix” to defeat us. That, Obamas statement, is what brought the bigots out from under their rocks to clobber us. They knew they had friends in high places.
And don’t try to blame it on us. If GLBT folk had something to vote for instead of a bigot like Obama maybe we’d have voted in larger numbers. But we had the choice of Bigot A, Obama, or Bigot B, McCain. Who besides a cretin would call that a choice?
Wayne
Bill is right. Obama was campaigning in California with “Faith Tours” that openly called for the passage of Prop 8. Obama manipulated fear and homophobia against gays to help get him elected. Donnie McClurkin was just the tip of the ice berg. Bigotry has served Obama quite well. Just ask Rick Warren.
tavdy79
You cannot reach across the aisle without reaching out to your own side as well. Reaching out to your opponents alone makes you the opponent.
BradK
@blake: Are you really that ignorant?.
No, I’m realistic. You’ve not only chosen to drink the Kool-aid by the gallon, you’re expecting everyone else to check their brains at the door as well. Sorry, not biting. Enjoy your sugar rush while it lasts, Cornholio.
RichardR
@Webster: Thanks, Webster, for the link to the Frank Rich article, it’s superb as always, and helpful. I wish several of the writers on this thread and on this site would read and internalize it.
HYHYBT
@Wayne: This is basic separation of powers. DOMA is a *law*; therefore a repeal has to go through Congress. Until then, or perhaps until the court strikes it down, the rest of the government has to abide by the law regardless.