Obama, Put Up or Shut Up! (An open letter to the President)
The most recent NBC/WSJ Polling shows President Obama’s overall approval rating dropping 5 points since April. Pundits will no doubt spend the next week pouring over the numbers while righties will have a brief moment of orgasmic joy. Not surprisingly, much of the loss comes from among independents. However, another sector that he should be concerned with is the LGBT community, especially after this weeks brief defending the Defense of Marriage Act and his lack of action in overturning “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”.
Mr. President, among other things, you campaigned on a promise of equality for all Americans, regardless of race, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation. Yet your DOJ brief defending DOMA, and your inaction regarding DADT, represents thus far the same slap in the face logic that the community received from your Democratic predecessor, Bill Clinton, when he enacted both policies into law. And while your recent granting of benefits to federal employees is indeed a step in the right direction, it is little more than a token gesture to those who’ve lived through 8 years of the most homophobic administration imaginable.
The LGBT community and its supporters understand that there are issues that are seemingly far more pressing to
America as a whole. You’ve inherited an economy in shambles, two wars, international strife which threatens our national security, and the unenviable task of re-establishing our credibility abroad. But as an African-American, who supports this nation’s first African-American president, I can think of no more pressing issue than human rights. At the heart of the matter, this is what it all boils down to – the right of same-sex couples to enjoy the same rights and privileges as heterosexual couples - including the designation of “marriage”, the right of Gays and Lesbians to serve their country openly and honestly without being subject to disciplinary action merely because of their sexual orientation, the right of the LGBT community not to be relegated to second-class status by the country they love as much as all other Americans. There are some who feel that the LGBT community should be patient, that change of this magnitude should come slowly if at all. However, your very presidency belies that line of reasoning. After all, if Blacks in this country were to simply remain patient in the struggle for Civil Rights, you sir would probably not now be president. Indeed, you would probably not have had the right to vote, nor would your parents not have the right to be married. To expect that the LGBT community should “wait their turn” smacks of Civil Rights hypocrisy, and this should not be allowed in this administration. It is within your power, Mr. President, to rectify the situation facing sexual minorities in this country with very minimal effort. A moratorium can easily be placed on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell to prevent further discharges of Gays and Lesbians from the military, and you have the votes and the desire in Congress to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act with minimum effort, or need for GOP input.
Know this, Mr. President. The LGBT community is hardly monolithic, nor are they like the sheep-like dittoheads that listen to Rush Limbaugh and do whatever he says. It is very much an independent community that votes its interests. And if it feels that the current administration is working against its interests, they will vote against it. The LGBT community does support you for now, but it will not for long if it feels as though you are throwing it under the bus. As a basketball fan, I’m sure you recognize when the ball is in your court. Mr. President, the ball is now in your court.
NBC/WSJ Poll
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/090617_NBC-WSJ_poll_Full.pdf
Justice Defends DOMA
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid89851.asp
DOJ Brief Defending DOMA
http://www.advocate.com/images/motion_memo.pdf
The struggle of the LGBT community to win the right to marry can clearly be defined as a civil rights issue. The current prohibition is a violation of the equal protection clause of the U. S. Constitution. As was the case during the Civil Rights movement, I believe the cause for same-sex marriage will be a process with the passage of time leading to a societal consensus for change. For now, the states are leading the way and this might be the best route in the short term. The Supreme Court as currently comprised is not ready to rule favorably for same-sex marriage. To have such a case rejected by SCOTUS would set the cause back for years, if not decades.
But the author is correct that the President could do away with DOMA with minimal effort and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell with the stroke of a pen. And he should. Come on Mr. President, live up to the promise of your campaign and strike a blow against second class citizenship for some and for equal rights for all. We are waiting.