DADT groups meet with President

A White House meeting reiterated that Obama opposes DADT, but will defend it in court.

Obama’s view on DOMA a mystery

Obama’s view on the constitutionality of DOMA is not known by his press secretary.

Culhane: Obama’s LGBT report card

At a recent fund-raiser for Senator Barbara Boxer, Obama was heckled [1] on the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and some think this isn’t such a bad thing. Even though Boxer is one of our biggest supporters, the protesters’ sentiment captures a frustration many in the LGBT community feel over Obama’s record on our issues.

But is the frustration justified? How, more than a full year into his Administration, should our community grade the President on his performance so far? Speaking from my legal perspective, I’d give him a passing grade (B-, maybe).

This may seem startling to some that I would pass him at all, because very little of the legislation he promised has been enacted. From a candidate who courted the LGBT community on issues ranging from DADT, to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, to the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, we’ve gotten nothing on those issues to date. ENDA may not have the votes in the Senate to pass DADT repeal seems like a moving target, and DOMA’s not even on the radar screen.

We have only hate crimes law, hardly a major victory. Worse, Obama has spent little of his political capital pushing for any of these goals.

So why the B-? It sounds like a “D” would be more appropriate.

But this overlooks the limits of Presidential power to enact legislation. It’s obvious but easy to forget that the President has no power to actually pass any laws. True, Presidents do suggest legislation that they want to see enacted, but they have only the “bully pulpit” of office to make anything happen. And one thing we’ve learned about Obama is that he’s reluctant to use that pulpit to talk directly to the people in support of his agenda. His passionate advocacy for the health care reform bill is the exception that proves the rule.

Of course, Obama could and should use the fact that his party substantially controls both houses of Congress to urge action on these bills, but given the way the filibuster has metastasized into an every-vote thing, he needs all of the Democrats and now at least one Republican for anything to clear the paralyzed Senate. So what can or should he do?

Let me quickly dispel any suggestion that I’m giving the President a pass on any of this. He could and should be trying to do more, especially on DADT where the Administration’s public pronouncements have been harder to chart than the course of a mosquito.

Saying in response to hecklers that he supports the policy’s repeal just won’t cut it any more. And the protesters deserve our gratitude for calling Obama on what Andrew Sullivan has called “the fierce urgency of whenever.” [2]

Yet legislative inaction isn’t the whole story. We should look at what Obama is doing in areas where he can effect change without Congress. Here I’m talking about the vast body of law – including administrative matters and the interpretation and enforcement of legislation – that’s under the control of the Executive Branch. And here, with at least one glaring exception, he’s done much better.

Let’s start with the exception: In defending DOMA against a lawsuit last year, Obama’s Department of Justice wrote a needlessly offensive brief [3] that, as I wrote at the time, “seemed to have been intended to set the course of judicial progress on gay rights back many years.” I was hardly the only blogger to go ballistic over the brief, and then…things got better. A later brief in the case expressly disavowed the argument that children did better in homes headed by opposite-sex parents [4] than in our homes.

Then there was another encouraging performance by the DOJ in a recent bullying case. [5] The Administration took an aggressive and unsettled legal position, arguing that Title IX (the federal law that protects against gender discrimination in education) also covers discrimination based on gender stereotyping.

From the administrative law standpoint, there have been a few other encouraging moves: putting into place long-awaited rules that lifted the HIV immigration restriction; the very recent directive to the Department of Health and Human Services to honor hospital patients’ visitation wishes (in a memorandum that expressly cited the problems of gay and lesbian couples); a memorandum that extended some limited benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees; and the recent announcement that DADT will now be enforced more “humanely.” None of these actions require acts of Congress, and Obama has at times stepped smartly into this breach.

Should any of us be satisfied if Obama’s (first? only?) term ends with a few more administrative moves, but no additional legislation? No. He has to deliver what he promised, whatever the obstacles. We have to demand results. Above, I gave him a passing (probably inflated) grade on his performance so far.

But the more precise assessment is: ”Incomplete.”

John Culhane is Professor of Law and Director of the Health Law Institute at Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. He blogs about the role of law in everyday life, and about a bunch of other things (LGBT rights, public health, biology, sports, pop culture, philosophy and lots of personal stuff) at http://wordinedgewise.org [6]A fuller bio is here [7]. Starting next Tuesday, he will be blogging the week-long Equality Forum [8] from Philadelphia.

[1] http://www.365gay.com/blog/withers-protestors-interrupt-obama-at-fundraiser/
[2] http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/05/the-fierce-urgency-of-whenever.html
[3] http://wordinedgewise.org/?p=128
[4] http://wordinedgewise.org/?p=300
[5] http://www.365gay.com/news/culhane-how-to-stop-gay-bullying/
[6] http://wordinedgewise.org/
[7] http://law.widener.edu/Academics/Faculty/ProfilesDe/CulhaneJohnG.aspx
[8] http://equalityforum.com/

Ruby-Sachs: Barbara Boxer the wrong Senator to protest

[1]

Yesterday, Obama was heckled at a California fundraiser for Senator Barbara Boxer. Boxer has been holding fundraisers across the country in order to gear up for a heated and difficult race in the upcoming election. If Sarah Palin were in charge of this blog, there’d be a big sign with Senator Boxer’s face in the crosshairs – the conservatives are gunning for her this time around.

The thing is, as much as we dislike Obama and his wishy washy approach to gay rights advocacy, we love Senator Boxer. Boxer has, when it comes to gay rights, been a staunch supporter of equality. She received a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign, spoke out about gay rights and actually is one of the few politicians to support gay marriage. She is a liberal activist politician in a landscape of conservative values and inaction on both sides of the aisle. She is exactly the kind of candidate we, as a community, should support.

Instead, we decided that a fundraiser where Obama (read not much of an advocate for gay rights) was doing his best to support Boxer was a perfect opportunity to highlight the President’s inaction of LGBT issues. This when Boxer is praying patrons open their cheque books and cough up a bit more money for her campaign. It doesn’t mean that the hecklers weren’t right in their criticism, Obama is hugely problematic when it comes to equality advocacy, but they needed to choose a different time to engage in that discussion.

The night is over and we can hope that Boxer got some of the funds she needs out of the event. Still, I hope that the people from Get Equal choose a more opportune moment to engage in protest. In the mean time, if they are serious about equality perhaps they should spend time raising a few dollars for Senator Boxer and her progressive agenda.

[1] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/blog-boxer-top.jpg

RachelWatch: Doubling your Boehner won’t double your fun

Every now and then, I resolve to be more of a grownup. And then Rachel and the gang come up with segment titles like…

Boehner vs. Boehner

We got to the giggle-and-nightmare-inducing segment title because Congressman John Boehner (R – Ohio) is continuing to be a complete tool.

He’s claiming that President Obama’s …

RachelWatch: Rachel tears up the myth of bipartisanship

50 is the New 50

Rachel started us off with President Obama’s touching burst of bipartisan optimism after meeting with Congressional Republicans on Tuesday.

Though given the way said Congressional Republicans have been operating lately, we may need a word that goes beyond “optimism”. We’re well past glass-half-full territory. It’s more like …

US: Mass. can’t “force” federal gay marriage

(Washington) States that allow gay marriage can’t force the federal government to provide benefits to those couples, the Obama administration argued Friday in court papers in a lawsuit by Massachusetts.

The Justice Department is at odds with Massachusetts – the first state to allow gay marriage – over a 1996 federal …

Obama’s White House remarks on hate crimes

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT RECEPTION COMMEMORATING THE ENACTMENT OF THE MATTHEW SHEPARD AND JAMES BYRD, JR. HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT

East Room

5:45 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much, everybody. Thank you so much, and welcome to the White House.

There are several people here that I want to just make mention …

Congress returns – much at stake for gays

Congress is back for the last three months of the Obama administration’s first year in the White House, and suddenly, every bill is on fire–eight of 12 appropriations bills in the Senate, bills to steady a still wobbly economy facing an almost 10 percent unemployment rate, and bills to address climate …

President Obama to Bestow Presidential Medal of Freedom on Harvey Milk

Equality California Urges Governor to Sign Harvey Milk Day Bill into Law

San Francisco – Today President Obama announced that he will honor assassinated civil rights leader Harvey Milk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor recognizing significant contributions to the nation and the world. The President will also honor Senator Edward Kennedy and tennis legend Billie Jean King, an open lesbian and longtime champion for the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, with the Medal of Freedom on August 12.

“President Obama understands that Harvey Milk’s legacy reaches far beyond San Francisco, and that his story is an inspiration to everyone who believes in equality and fairness,” said Geoff Kors, Equality California (EQCA) executive director. “Harvey Milk risked everything to change the course of history and to secure many of the civil rights and protections we enjoy today. In light of Harvey Milk receiving this incredible honor, we urge Governor Schwarzenegger to sign the Harvey Milk bill into law as a tribute to Harvey Milk’s courageous work to end discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.”

Last year, EQCA sponsored the first bill in the country to officially honor Milk, the nation’s first openly gay man elected to major political office, but the Governor vetoed it. Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) introduced the Harvey Milk Day bill, sponsored by EQCA, again this year. The legislation would require the governor to annually proclaim May 22 as Harvey Milk Day, designating it as a “day of special significance,” to recognize Milk’s work to secure equal protections.

Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender-rights advocacy organization in California. In the past decade, EQCA has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil-rights protections in the nation. EQCA has passed over 50 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org