Congress calls on Obama to act on DADT: Gutsy or opportunistic?

June 22, 7:06 PMInternational LGBT Issues ExaminerKelvin Lynch

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                  Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL)

Seventy-seven members of Congress signed a letter to President Obama urging him to issue an immediate moratorium on the Pentagon's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy, according to The Advocate.  The letter appears to throw a wrench in the Administration's plans to defer action on the harmful law to the legislature.  But is it simply a desperate attempt by Democrats to cast blame on the president and keep gay cash rolling into the DNC?

The letter, which was the idea of Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL), doesn't call for the repeal of DADT, it simply recommends changing how the law is enforced. The letter was signed by 76 Democrats and 1 Republican.

"They basically want the military to disregard anyone who 'tells' [of someone's sexuality] as long as there isn't a [Uniform Code of Military Justice] violation or something criminal," said Christopher Neff of the Palm Center  at the University of California at Santa Barbara.  Mr. Neff said the letter was "gutsy" and that it "sent a strong message" to the president that he can stop DADT discharges now, rather than waiting years for a repeal to pass Congress.  Last month, a committee of military law experts at UCSB concluded that President Obama was erroneous in believing he does not have the authority to repeal DOMA by executive order.

The sudden move comes in the wake of a mass exodus of gay support for the DNC.  The president's speedy memorandum granting some benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees last week was viewed by many in the LGBT community as "too little, too late", because the president did not grant health benefits (the most important) and has made it clear he does not intend to keep his promises to repeal DOMA and DADT.  Gay Americans are extremely disturbed by the Administration's notorious legal brief vehemently defending DOMA and comparing gay marriage to incest and pedophilia. 

The Congressional letter could be viewed in a similar light as the president's memorandum - the result of outrage in the LGBT community and a drying up of gay financial support to the Democratic Party.  The letter can be seen as an attempt by some Congressional Dems to distance themselves from President Obama, regain gay support, and keep what little gay support they still have.

Most interesting is who didn't sign the letter.  Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) was the only Republican on the list, and the vast majority of Democrats (who control both houses of Congress) didn't sign it.  This sends a message that DADT is not really a top priority for the majority of the Legislative branch, and even if it were, it's unlikely to get much support from either party.

What exactly is "gutsy" about this? If anything, it throws the president under the bus on the issue of DADT, because he made the very unpopular decision not to intervene in DADT cases and defer action to Congress. Did the members of Congress who signed this letter simply see an opportunity to take advantage of gay anger and stop the cash bleed from their gay constituents?  Is the letter supposed to make LGBT citizens forget the fact that the Democratic-controlled Congress has had ample opportunity to repeal DADT but has failed to do so?

View a copy of the letter here.

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