Reply #41: “I will place the weight of my administration behind” gay rights. [View All]

The one who made the campaign promise is accountable.

One man has the power to influence policy and to set policy. Should we lobby the executive and legislative?
That's not even at issue. The issue is we know who campaigned on the promise to repeal DADT, we believe him and believed he knew what he meant when he said he would repeal DADT, even if it means arm twising in Congress. The fastest way is through the white house to put the pressure on Congress.

(1)LGBT Community holds Obama’s feet to the fire on campaign promises
Jan 2nd, 2009 | By Jody May-Chang |
http://www.pridedepot.com/?p=738680
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Candidate Obama’s letter to the GLBT community:
http://www.pridedepot.com/images/ObamaToLGBTCommunity.pdf
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http://www.queerty.com/obama-promises-lesbian-lieutenant-i-will-fulfill-my-commitment-to-changing-dadt-20090507/

Sandy– Thanks for your wonderful and thoughtful letter. It is because of outstanding Americans like you that I committed to changing our current policy. Although it will take some time to complete (partly because it needs Congressional action) I intend to fulfill my commitment!"

Reading between the lines, however, we see this: Obama says he's "committed to changing" Don't Ask Don't Tell, which is not the same as "repealing." That difference in wording is what got Obama into trouble when the White House website revamped the president's Civil Rights section and replaced a promise to repeal DADT with a commitment to "changing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in a sensible way."

Also: A built-in excuse for not tackling the subject right away "because it needs Congressional action." What else needs Congressional action? Bailing out Wall Street, but he got that done overnight.

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http://www.palmcenter.org/press/dadt/in_print/Slow+going+for+promise+to+overturn+ban+on+gays+in+military

Slow going for promise to overturn ban on gays in military
Source: Los Angeles Times
Author(s): Los Angeles Times

President Barack Obama's campaign vow to end the ban on gays in the military - and the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that forces thousands of military personnel to stay in the closet - appears to be driven now by a strategy of "Don't Rush."

The recent coming-out by dozens of gay West Point graduates, including Arabic language specialist Lt. Daniel Choi, has spotlighted the conflicting policies and put pressure on Congress and the White House to make good on promises to repeal them.

<snip>
But neither Congress nor the White House appears eager to reopen the bitter debate over gays in the military that transpired during the early years of the Clinton administration.

"They're caught in a political double bind. If they move too quickly, they will expend political capital with the military and Congress. Yet if they move too slowly, they will alienate a core constituency and fail to deliver on a very clear campaign promise," said Aaron Belkin, director of the Santa Barbara institute, which casts its studies as intended to inform discussion of controversial issues with evidence rather than emotion.


A report issued this month by the University of California, Santa Barbara, Palm Center research institute asserted that Obama already has the power to thwart what he sees as discrimination in discharging military personnel for their sexual orientation. Under the stop-loss provision, Obama can issue executive orders to retain any soldier deemed necessary to the service at this time of national emergency, the report noted.

The president also could halt the work of Pentagon review panels that brand soldiers as gay and thus excluded from service, according to the report. And the president and his defense secretary could revise discharge procedures, as allowed under the 1993 statute.
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http://www.examiner.com/x-4107-Gay--Lesbian-Issues-Examiner~y2009m5d1-Obama-steps-backwards-on-gay-rights
The changes were first spotted yesterday by eagle-eyed blogger Joe My God, who noticed that eight specific promises for gay rights had been whittled down to just three. The eight promises that originally appeared were (1) including sexual orientation in hate crimes law, (2) passing ENDA, (3) supporting civil unions and repealing DOMA, (4) opposing a Contitutional amendment banning gay marriage, (5) repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell, (6) expanding adoption rights to include gay parents, (7) promoting AIDS prevention, and (8) empowering women to prevent HIV/AIDS.

As of yesterday, the list of promises was down to just three - passing ENDA, supporting civil unions (but no mention of repealing DOMA), and opposing a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

Today, this is what it says on the White House civil rights page:

President Obama ... continues to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. He supports full civil unions and federal rights for LGBT couples and opposes a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. He supports changing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in a sensible way that strengthens our armed forces and our national security, and also believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation.