Honeymoon over for President and GLBT community

June 18, 9:56 AMPortland Progressive ExaminerMichael Stone

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President Obama

The honeymoon is over for President Barack Obama and the GLBT community. The passionate support the President once enjoyed from the GLBT community is slowly turning sour, curdling in the President's inaction. As a conciliatory gesture President Barack Obama signaled to gay rights activists that he's listening to their priorities by extending some benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. Yet he failed to deliver what justice demands, allowing a growing anger against the President to simmer.

"We all have to acknowledge this is only one step," President Obama said in the Oval Office. There he signed a memorandum that made incremental changes to benefits offered to the same-sex partners of gay federal employees.

But the President's critics saw the gesture as a meager move to expand gay rights; little more than pandering, the primary aim more about cutting short a possible fundraising boycott, rather than meaningful or dramatic change.

Indeed, President Obama has failed to make any effort towards repealing DADT (Don't ask; Don't tell), a policy that bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. As a candidate the President promised to end the homophobic policy. To add insult to injury, the President has failed to block the dismissal of gays and lesbians who face courts martial for disclosing their sexual orientation.

As a candidate, President Obama said he wanted the Defense of Marriage Act repealed and in its place a law that would give the partners of gay and lesbian federal employees health insurance and survivor benefits, among other things (everything but marriage). On the campaign trail the President opposed same-sex marriage, but also opposes a constitutional ban on same sex marriage. This ambivalence is troubling.

Nevertheless, it is time for the President to act. He needs to speak out and begin the process of dismantling the remaining institutionalized homophobia in the federal government. That means abandoning the "Don't ask; Don't tell" policy in the military and repealing the Defense of Marriage Act.

Separate is not equal.

Justice delayed is justice denied.