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(http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;211852992;17836555;s?http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-adv/media_kit/wpni/contact_us.html) Obama to Reaffirm His Support for Gay Rights In Speech Tonight, President Aims to Allay Concerns on Inaction By Ed O'Keefe and Michael D. Shear Washington Post Staff Writers Saturday, October 10, 2009 11:52 AM President Obama will tout the imminent passage of long-delayed hate crime legislation when he addresses the nation's largest gay rights group on Saturday, as he seeks to allay concerns among some in the community that he is moving too slowly to prove his commitment to their cause. The House of Representatives on Thursday aproved a bill that would broaden the current definition of federal hate crimes to include attacks based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. Final action in the Senate is expected next week. Similar legislation languished for years under the weight of veto threats from former President George W. Bush and Republican opposition in the Congress. But Obama has said he will eagerly sign the bill that has become a centerpiece of the gay civil rights agenda. "The president has articulated unwavering support for it and a desire to sign it," said Melody Barnes, the president's top domestic policy adviser. "This is all part of a theme of steady, forward progress on issues that have been supported by the community." But many activists say it will not be enough to ease their simmering frustration that Obama has not moved quickly on issues such as repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act or reversal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Those concerns are unlikely to abate soon. Aides say Obama continues to support the goal of reversing both policies, but does not plan to make any major announcements about either in Saturday's speech. The delay has left some of his most ardent supporters frustrated. "At a time when we're kind of broke and we're wondering where we're going to get the money, it'd make sense to focus some time on something that doesn't cost any money, like honoring the promise of our constitution to treat all of its citizens equally under the law," said Lane Hudson, a gay blogger and activist from the District. In Washington D.C., the city council this week introduced legislation to legalize gay marriage. Advocates say the Obama White House should follow their lead. They want references to parents on federal government paperwork to state "Parent 1 and Parent 2" instead of "Father and Mother." They say the Department of Health and Human Services should spend more time and money on the issue of homeless gay teens. And they want to make sure that faith-based social services do not deny care to people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. "We're now pushing this administration to undo decades of discrimination that currently exist in federal government policy," said Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "It's not just about policy, it's really about the day-to-day life and safety of individuals and their families across the country." Obama's top domestic policy aides insist that the president is committed to an equality agenda for gays and lesbians, and note that his advocacy on behalf of the hate crimes legislation breathed new life into the bill. House and Senate negotiators agreed earlier this week to attach the hate-crimes provision to the conference report for the $680 billion Defense Department authorization bill. The bill passed the House on Thursday, 281 to 146, with 131 Republicans and 15 Democrats in opposition. Congressional Republicans complained that tacking the hate crimes provision onto a bill laying out the Pentagon's budget for the coming year was an abuse of the legislative process and made U.S. troops "political pawns" in a social policy debate. "This is radical social policy that ... is being put on the defense authorization bill, on the backs of our soldiers, because they probably can't pass it on its own," said House _Minority Leader John A. Boehner_ (http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/b000589/) (R-Ohio). The House passed the hate crimes measure as a stand-alone bill in April. But it stalled in the Senate. Obama's advisers also say he has moved quickly on a series of smaller issues which did not require Congressional approval. The president extended some benefits to the spouses of gay federal employees in June while voicing support for a House bill that grants them other rights. The State Department now allows married gay and lesbian couples to obtain passports with their married names. And the Census Bureau has agreed to release data on same-sex marriages. "The president has been very clear. He's not hiding, he's not avoiding [the gay and lesbian] issue," Barnes said. "He has walked into a range of different communities as well as looked into the eyes of those in the GLBT community and been very clear about what he supports and what he wants done and the way he thinks it's practical to get it done." But Obama is also clearly mindful of the politics of the combustible issue. Opposition remains in much of the country to extending rights to gays, especially where marriage is concerned. House Democrats introduced a bill last month that would repeal the marriage act, but polls consistently show that opponents of legalizing same-sex marriage outnumber supporters. Twenty-nine states have banned gay marriage. Colleen Holmes, Executive Director of the Eagle Forum, said that her organization believes "the President should be focused on implementing policies that create jobs at a time when Americans are suffering one of the worst economic crises since the Great Depression, not looking for ways to pay back radical political interests." Obama's aides have signaled that efforts to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act will take a back seat to other domestic priorities during the president's first term, an indication that Obama wants to avoid the mistakes that Bill Clinton made when he attempted to allow gays to serve in the military during the first months of his presidency. But the White House has continued to pursue a number of lower-profile changes , including the decision to allow reporting of the Census numbers, suggests that there is a new willingness to shift federal policy to be more supportive of gays. The Bush administration had refused to release the raw data, arguging that DOMA's provisions prohibited its release. Emboldened by Obama's rhetoric during the presidential campaign, dozens of representatives of various gay, lesbian and transgender organizations met with his top aides during the presidential transition. Barnes said the final decision was left to Census officials, and while groups and community leaders provided input, it was the "president and administration who believed the count should be accurate." Staff writer Ben Pershing contributed to this report.
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