Obama Administration and Gay Rights
The Civil Rights Test of Our Generation
Published October 09, 2009 @ 07:06AM PT
Congressman Joe Sestak, a member of the House Equality Caucus, is a Democratic candidate for United States Senate in Pennsylvania.
When we think of the civil rights movement, we tend to think of grainy footage of marches and speeches, Selma, Ala., and the National Mall.
But our generation, too, is a part of that movement and has a critical role to play. It has been a long journey for our country, but we are now close to finally realizing our founders’ vision of a society where all are created equal and endowed with the same inalienable rights.
It’s time to end the discrimination based on sexual identity or orientation that is the only form of institutionalized discrimination still permitted in our society. That is why I am working to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and am committed to equal rights for all Americans.
On Saturday, President Obama will address the Human Rights Campaign. I hope he will use the opportunity to clearly call for the swift repeal of these discriminatory policies. We can get it done this year, and human rights should not be asked to wait.
In my three decades as an officer in the United States Navy, I lost good sailors to the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” law -- sailors that I, and the nation, depended on for their training, skills, and courage.
Over the last 16 years we’ve lost 12,500 good servicemembers to this policy. In a time of war, our national security cannot afford to lose these troops, especially high-value specialists and linguists. But more so, our military cohesion depends on honesty and integrity. How can we demand that the 65,000 of our troops who are estimated to be gay act dishonestly and conceal information from their comrades and commanders? No one who serves in defense of liberty should be forced to live a lie.
I cannot imagine denying equal rights to anyone I served with. How can anyone say, we fought and served together, we depended on one another, we risked our lives for this country, but back home you shouldn’t enjoy the rights that you defended?
That’s why I have co-sponsored the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA and require the federal government to extend to the tens of thousands of legally married same-sex couples the more than 1,100 federal rights and benefits afforded to opposite-sex couples, including tax, pension, and benefits rights and the right to take unpaid leave to care for ill spouses. I have sent a letter urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring the bill up for a vote and I am circulating a petition to show support.
The struggle for equality has never been easy and it won’t be today. But I am confident. This is a historic and, indeed, an exciting time for America, when we declare once and for all that there is no such thing as equality that doesn’t extend to everyone, that we hold this truth to be self-evident.
Getting Obama to Say Yes to Marriage Equality in Maine
Published October 06, 2009 @ 04:33AM PT
There was an explosion of news coverage yesterday with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announcing that President Barack Obama will speak before the group this Saturday night, October 10, during the weekend of the National Equality March. Obama, the first President to speak before an LGBT rights organization since Bill Clinton did so in 1997, is I imagine both a catch and a concern for HRC. If Obama goes out and gives a speech that simply rehashes his June 2009 Stonewall anniversary rhetoric, most will likely see the comments as "more of the same." But if Obama gets up on stage and delivers a knockout speech, it could stand to improve the President's image in an LGBT population that has seen him as a little too patient on all of our issues.
So what will make a knockout speech? It could be promising a specific timeline for repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," or promising to fight homophobia around the globe, or even saying that the White House will extend full political capital to make sure hate crimes laws and an employment non-discrimination act are passed this session of Congress. But I'm just not sure that rhetoric like that is going to fly...especially when tens of thousands of people are in Washington, D.C. this weekend to protest inaction by the federal government on behalf of equal rights.
Instead, what would really be a knockout blow would be for Obama to say six simple words: "I support marriage equality in Maine."
Maine is facing a ballot initiative that if passed, will repeal the civil rights of gays and lesbians to get married in the state. The opposition is made up of the same cast of characters that brought us Prop 8 last year, and is well funded. Not to mention that anti-gay forces also have the Catholic Bishop of Maine, Richard Malone, arguing that all Catholics should discriminate against gays and lesbians.
The marriage equality side in Maine is well-organized and well-messaged. It needs more money. It also could use a surrogate like President Barack Obama who can deliver a line before a national audience that says, "Maine's legislature voted to enact marriage equality for gays and lesbians, arguing that if equal protection means anything in the state, it means that gays and lesbians ought to be entitled to the full benefits of marriage. I agree with that."
That would be a knockout speech. That would create the type of momentum that will spill over to the tens of thousands of activists who will march the streets of Washington on Sunday for equal rights. And that will be a sign of bold leadership from a President who has been criticized for moving at the pace of Cream of Wheat when it comes to LGBT rights.
What FDR's Words Can Teach LGBT Rights Activists
Published October 05, 2009 @ 02:01PM PT
Recently I attended a screening of Michael Moore’s new movie Capitalism: A Love Story, with Moore taking some questions from the audience after the movie. Asked about Obama, Moore said, he inherited a horrible mess, and Obama deserves a long grace period to sort it out. But, Moore added, he hoped that the President realized that the biggest damage he could do is not deliver on his promise of change. It would take a nation of young activists and idealists and turn them into hardened cynics.
Which is why this piece in the L.A. Times by Johanna Neuman and Kate Linthicum caught my eye, noting how some gay activists are criticizing Obama for being “all talk.”
Neuman and Linthicum write that Obama seems to be paying the community lip service, fueling “an ongoing debate among gay-rights activists about whether the president is living up to his promise that he would be a ‘fierce advocate’ for LGBT equality.” He has not moved to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” and his Administration has at times defended DOMA. The article points to activists’ claims that the President's support for gay rights “has not been reflected in policy decisions, but has been purely rhetorical.”
Interestingly, at the movie screening for Capitalism, another questioner asked Moore about footage in the film featuring FDR addressing the nation. Interestingly enough, what was FDR’s reply to activists who wanted to see Social Security enacted? Peter Dreier in this article from Common Dreams documents it: “He listened to their arguments for some time and then said, ‘You've convinced me. Now go out and make me do it.’"
And therein lies the lesson from FDR. We've convinced Obama about most of our issues -- hate crimes, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," repealing DOMA. Now we just have to make Obama do it.
Hey, Obama, the Time to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is Now
Published October 04, 2009 @ 09:26AM PT
President Barack Obama's National Security Advisor, Gen. James Jones, made the rounds on the Sunday talkshow circuit this week, and had a chance to clarify the timeline of when the discriminatory military policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" might be repealed. But instead of hitting a homerun with the question, Gen. Jones struck out by answering that Obama's plate is too full to move forward on a repeal right now.
Instead of unequivocally stating that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is bad policy, hurts our Armed Forces, and discriminates against gays and lesbians, Gen. Jones answered that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" will be dealt with "at the right time," and that a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" will be teed up appropriately. *Yawn* That's not bold leadership; that's preserving the status quo.
To be clear, NOW is the appropriate time to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." More than 13,000 troops have been booted out of the military simply because of their sexuality since this policy took shape in 1993, and the discharges have not stopped under Obama. As of this summer, more than 200 soldiers had been fired under the Obama administration for being gay.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wrote to Obama asking for guidance on how to move a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" forward. Reid said that "At a time when we are fighting two wars, I do not believe we can afford to discharge any qualified individual who is willing to serve our country."
He's right. So is the Albany Times Union, which has a fabulous editorial on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" this morning. They write: "Can a nation still fighting two wars, and perhaps even escalating one of them, afford to reject a change in policy that would strengthen its armed forces?"
The magic word for Barack Obama should be, simply, "NOW." Or better yet, "YESTERDAY." That's the timeframe for eliminating "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." This bullshit about waiting "for the right time" or teeing up a repeal "appropriately" is not only offensive, it feeds into the Glenn Becks and Sean Hannitys of the world who like to hit Obama around like a ping-pong ball for being spineless.
Bold leadership doesn't let politically correct timelines dictate when equal rights are good policy. Bold leadership recognizes that equal rights should have happened yesterday. Come on: if Obama was willing to stick his neck out for Chicago's Olympic bid despite the bad PR hit, he should be willing to stick his neck out on an issue where the majority of the U.S. public agrees with his position -- that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has got to go.
Happy Family Day, LGBT Families
Published September 28, 2009 @ 01:39PM PT
Today is Family Day, a national awareness day to talk about the importance of sitting down with your kids over dinner and engaging in their lives in constructive, positive ways. The White Hosue issued a proclamation about the day, and for the first time in history, LGBT families were included in an official White House statement.
"Whether children are raised by two parents, a single parent, grandparents, a same-sex couple, or a guardian, families encourage us to do our best and enable us to accomplish great things," the White House said.
Cool. And nicely timed with this study, published in this month's Adoption Quarterly, which says yet again that children who are raised by gay parents grow up to be just as well balanced as children raised by heterosexual parents.
Or, in other words, families are good for children no matter if they're LGBT or straight. That's something experts get. And now, for the first time, it seems that it's something that the White House gets, too.
A Choice Between Equal Rights or Golf for President Obama
Published September 28, 2009 @ 08:18AM PT
Cleve Jones, the long-time LGBT rights activist who is one of the prominent organizers for the October 10-11 National Equality March in D.C., has invited President Barack Obama to attend the rally to champion the cause of equality for LGBT Americans. The only problem might be that the President has an invitation to go golfing that weekend.
Jones sent a letter to Obama saying that the struggle for LGBT equality today mirrors the struggle that civil rights advocates from the 20th century faced during some of their organized days.
"I compare our National Equality March with the Civil Rights March of 1963. Martin Luther King had a dream; we have a dream too. We share Dr. King’s belief in the dignity and equality of all peoples, and his commitment to non-violence. And we share his faith that justice will prevail," Jones wrote.
Will Obama attend? Or will he go golfing? As EBAR points out, Obama has been invited to attend the annual Presidents Cup Golf Tournament the same weekend, which this year is taking place in San Francisco. Obama, former President Bill Clinton (himself a recent convert to the marriage equality cause), and former President George H.W. Bush have all been invited to attend.
So the choice for Obama: equal rights, or golf? Should seem like a no-brainer, but we'll wait and see.
The Five Things Bill Clinton Should Do to Take a Firm Stand on Gay Marriage
Published September 26, 2009 @ 09:56AM PT
Bill Clinton made a bit of history last night, when on Anderson Cooper 360, he finally admitted he was wrong to not support marriage equality while President of the United States. While not a full on retraction of his support for policies like the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the former President now admits that he was wrong to be hung up on the word marriage.
"Me, Bill Clinton personally, I changed my position. I am no longer opposed to that. I think if people want to make commitments that last a lifetime, they ought to be able to do it," Clinton told Cooper. He then cited his support for gay adoption and the fact that he grew up in a different time period and realized he needed to evolve as reasons for his change in position.
This is great news, albeit thirteen years too late to save DOMA from becoming law. Still, history is history, and this frankly is a bit of history. And the best part is that now there's time left for Clinton to take a stand for marriage equality and really help change this country. Here are five ways how he can do this:
1. Go to Maine and campaign for marriage equality. Maine, as well all know, is in the midst of a ballot initiative that could repeal the rights of gays and lesbians to marry. The No on 1 campaign needs all the support it can get to beat down this ballot initiative (vote no on 1!), and Clinton's voice could certainly help lend a hand. Poll numbers show that the race is neck-and-neck. Clinton's voice could make a huge difference.
2. Go to Washington and campaign for Referendum 71. Washington state is also in the thick of a battle to keep very good domestic partnership benefits in place. Anti-gay activists have put a ballot measure forward that could repeal these benefits for same-sex couples. Clinton's voice in Washington -- a state he carried twice with relative ease, and a blue state in almost every part of the word -- could be a huge boon for folks working for the Approve Referendum 71 campaign.
3. Lend his voice in support of the recently introduced Respect for Marriage Act. The bill, introduced in the U.S. House earlier this month by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. It would be the ultimate apology from Clinton to the LGBT world, and signify that he's not only changed his position on marriage equality, but he's also able to admit that sometimes politicians can screw up and put into law really bad pieces of legislation.
4. Endorse candidates who support full marriage equality. Clinton's endorsement powers are huge. Note the huge stink raised when he decided to throw his hat into the California 2010 Governor's race by endorsing pro-marriage equality candidate Gavin Newsom. That move is huge for Newsom, and certainly a welcome sign. It's dicey to place a litmus test on candidates, but on this issue, it's a real test of where a politician stands on equal rights. Endorsing candidates that don't support marriage equality -- if ever justified -- should be the exception, not the rule.
5. Lobby Obama. While it's great that the former President now supports marriage equality, there's still the problem of the current President believing that marriage equality isn't ready for prime time yet. Clinton might not have capacity to change the Obama administration's perogative on this issue. But it doesn't mean that Obama should be left off of the hook, either. There are ways for former Presidents to inform the politics of current Presidents. Clinton should take every opportunity to do so.
