When it came to issuing an executive order banning anti-LGBT discrimination by federal contractors, President Obama had a choice. He could play it safe and include a giant religious exception, which many religious leaders wanted, even Democratic religious leaders, or he could make a statement that LGBT rights arenât negotiable.
Today Obama is scheduled to sign an executive order that makes a huge statement in the right direction. And by making a move that depends solely on him, the president is demonstratingâfinally and with an exclamation markâthat he sees nondiscrimination as a core principle and that heâs willing to take big risks on our behalf.
That the decision didnât seem a foregone conclusion says a lot about Obama. No one can question his support for LGBT issues; after all, his Administration aggressively pursued formalizing marriage benefits in federal policy where others might have paused.
But Obama is also an inherently cautious politician. His instinct is to âevolve,â not act decisively. He was the one dragging his heels on marriage equality, until Joe Biden forced his hand. He took his sweet time with the repeal of Donât Ask, Donât Tell, letting others take the lead. (In fairness to Obama, if he took the lead, repealing DADT would have been DOA in Congress.) Even todayâs executive order has been dragging on for months.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
If Obama has signed the order earlier in the year, he could avoided a lot of the second guessing that erupted after the Hobby Lobby ruling. That Supreme Court decision upped the stakes considerably, by blessing religious exceptions for corporations. High-profile lobbying by religious leaders like Rick Warren added to the pressure for Obama to cave.
Which makes Obamaâs decision to omit a religious exception in the executive order all that much more bold. Religious conservatives see the decision as a âdrop deadâ (actually, another two-word phrase) gesture. Obama probably doesnât view it that way, but he is willing to take on the religious-âlibertyâ crowd. And heâs willing to do so to protect LGBT workers.
At this point, Obama doesnât have much to lose. Heâs not running for re-election, so he can worry less about political fallout. It would be hard for his poll numbers to be worse. Itâs not like the Catholic bishops will ever like him, and the religious right wouldnât have been satisfied with the religious exception anyway. (Give them an inch, and youâre still going to hell, so why bother?)
Moreover, he knows better than anyone that religious groups already have plenty of protection under an existing executive order. What they were seeking is special rightsâyou know, the kind of thing that they always accused us of wanting. Obama is sending a strong signal that there is a such a thing as separation between Church and state, something that the religious right denies exists.
All this is especially significant because Obama is riding solo on this decision. He canât hide behind the Supreme Court or let Congress take the lead. Joe Biden didnât back him into a corner. The sole responsibility for this decision lies with Obama.
With this action, he chose sides and proved beyond a doubt that itâs our side heâs on.
northwest
Ya’ll may have had doubts, but I never did. He was ALWAYS on our side, some of us have known it all along.
Mezaien
I couldn’t read the article! and what for?. Obama, will be remember as the best president EVER in the USA. My president I AM! on your side and that is everything. (I hope you are not a Christian).
Cam
@northwest:
No, actually Congress was forced through grass roots activists to move because the Dems had just lost seats because the base on the left was discouraged by their not moving on anything.
The White house said there would be ZERO movement on gay rights at that time and Pelosi forced the DADT repeal down their throat.
Obama wasn’t against us, but lets not pretend that one of the main reasons things have changed now is that the polls say supporting gays is GOOD for getting elected. Obama has been very good for gay rights, but lets not rewrite history and pretend that he was leading the charge. That said, even though he was slower to the goal is far far far better than the other side that wants to strip all of our rights away. So thanks for the Executive Order Mr. President. đ
All of that said, it will be funny to watch the usual right wing suspects come in here and try to feign outrage and somehow turn this story around and attack Democrats as being bad for gay rights. lol
DarkZephyr
@Cam: I’m with you there. Can’t wait to see what BJ McFrisky, Fagburn and Co. have to say about this. Should be pretty entertaining.