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
(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.
© 2009 The Washington Post Company
