Obama Pressured to Champion Gay Issues
May 11, 2009 by Guest Writer 1
Filed under Civil Rights, General
Many gay activists have been disappointed that Obama has not moved as quickly on their pet issues as he has on behalf of abortion and several other liberal issues in his first months as President. Here are some of the issues they want to see addressed:
Some advocates, irked that there are no gay men or lesbians in his cabinet, are mounting a campaign to influence his choice to replace Justice David H. Souter, who is retiring. Same-sex marriage is advancing in states — the latest to allow it is Maine — and a new flare-up in the District of Columbia could ultimately put the controversy in the lap of the president. Mr. Obama’s new global health initiative has infuriated activists who say he is not financing AIDS programs generously enough. And while the president has urged Congress to pass a hate crimes bill, a high priority for gay groups, he has delayed action on one of his key campaign promises, repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule.
Obama is making steps to appease the gay activists who are upset with his decisions:
The White House, aware of the discontent, invited leaders of some prominent gay rights organizations to meet Monday with top officials… to plot legislative strategy on the hate crimes bill as well as “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Among those attending was Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, who said afterward that while the gay rights agenda might not be “unfolding exactly as we thought,” he was pleased…
“We’ve elected probably the most pro-gay president in history; he’s very good on the issues but he is not good on gay marriage,” said Steven Elmendorf, a gay Democratic lobbyist…
Mr. Obama has chosen a number of openly gay people for prominent jobs, …and he is the first president to set aside tickets for gay families to attend the White House Easter Egg Roll…
In addition to calling for the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military, Mr. Obama supports a legislative repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that said states need not recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Opponents of same-sex marriage say that is an inconsistency.
Many conservative groups are disappointed with Obama’s conciliating steps toward the gay activist crowd, and the potential for losing even more ground on some of their key issues concerning family, traditional marriage, and life issues. As the most liberal president in America’s history stands in charge of the country, with a majority of Democrats also ruling Congress, the divide between conservatives and liberals is continually growing, and Obama’s promises of “change” may take a very disturbing form. The issues pushed by the liberal crowd will weaken and divide the country further, leaving the United States in a more vulnerable state and full of moral disintegration than ever before.
