by Eric Rader
Change takes time, but it's not always easy to wait. Over the past few months, the LGBT community has celebrated several significant legal victories, yet has seen the political branches move at a snail's pace on issues of equality. Federal and state courts have overturned the "Don't ask, Don't tell" military policy, ruled against the "Defense of Marriage Act," and upheld the right of gays and lesbians to adopt in the state of Florida. Meanwhile, the U. S. Senate could not muster 60 votes to stop a Republican filibuster of a bill to end DADT, even with more than 60 senators in support of the measure.
Many people ask why President Obama has not moved more aggressively on issues of LGBT equality. Even more troubling to many people is the Obama Administration's decision to appeal the DADT and DOMA decisions, even as the president proclaims his desire to see these regressive laws die. The question some ask is why he doesn't simply accept the verdict of the courts, since he opposes the laws anyway. It is right that we ask these questions, especially since the political support of many in our community helped propel the president to his near-landslide victory two years ago.
There are a few things to keep in mind about President Obama's seeming-reluctance to support LGBT equality when it matters. On the legal cases, the president faces difficult choices. As the head of the executive branch of government, the president is responsible for carrying out the laws passed by Congress. As odious as they are, DADT and DOMA are still technically part of the U.S. legal code. President Obama has stated that he wants Congress to repeal these laws permanently, rather than leaving it to the courts with the possibility that they could be resurrected in some way by a future president.
President Obama is very aware of the political pitfalls of supporting the LGBT community. The last Democrat in the White House, Bill Clinton, had a difficult time navigating issues of equality, even as he made efforts to protect our community. However, it's important to note that in the 1990s, a majority of Americans opposed openly gay service in the military and gay marriage. Today, the vast majority of Americans support allowing gays and lesbians to serve in the military, and slight majorities (in some polls) support same-sex marriage. Thus, it would seem that President Obama faces a better political environment for achieving progress on issues of equality than was the case 15 years ago.
Where does this leave us as the midterm elections rapidly approach? Many people in the Democratic coalition that enthusiastically voted for Mr. Obama in 2008 appear likely to stay home this year. All of us, however, should look at what has happened in the last two years. We now have a president who reaches out to the LGBT community, even if his political support for our issues is sometimes tentative. Since taking office, the president has used executive action to allow gays and lesbians to visit their spouses in the hospital and granted certain domestic-partner benefits to gay and lesbian federal employees serving in foreign countries. He also signed major LGBT-inclusive hate crimes legislation, something his predecessor, George W. Bush, refused to do. More symbolically, the president has met with LGBT leaders, including some from Michigan, at the White House.
Don't give up, even if you're not happy with what's going on in Washington. Yes, we should be upset that things aren't moving very quickly on some of our issues. Yes, we're entitled to be disappointed that the president is appealing legal rulings that we regard as victories. But we need to stay involved. We need to keep the pressure on the president. Since the president has decided to follow the legislative route toward equality, we need to make sure he follows through on his promises and keep the pressure on the White House to do the right thing
Most importantly, none of us should stay home on Election Day, Nov. 2. Keep in mind that while President Obama is not perfect, his opposition would do nothing at all to protect equal rights for the LGBT community. Indeed, it's largely their actions that have blocked any legislative progress on these issues. It is much better to work with imperfect friends than adversaries who don't care about our rights. If the other side wins this year, it'll be because we stayed home. That is simply not acceptable when so much is at stake for our community and country.
SpeakOut
Contact President Obama and urge him to make repeal of DADT a top priority in the upcoming "lame duck" Congress:
E-mail: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact, or call the White House switchboard: 202-456-1414.
Find out where your polling place is:
http://www.publius.org
Download the BTL Voters Guide–use it:
https://www.pridesource.com/guides_subpage.html?section=guide-voter
