Obama's gay rights move: Too little?

by Mark Z. Barabak and Jessica Garrison

Faced with growing anger among gay supporters, President Obama is expected today to extend health care and other benefits to the gay and lesbian partners of federal employees.

His action is a significant advance for gay rights and comes just days after the Obama administration sparked outraged among many by filing a legal brief defending the law that forbids the federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Obama opposed the 1996 law during the presidential campaign.

It was not immediately clear whether Obama's decision would mollify his critics. Many offered only grudging support Tuesday night after learning of the president's intentions.

"This is a good thing for the small percentage of ..... people that work for the federal government, but it leaves out the vast majority of people who are in same-sex relationships," said Geoff Kors, head of Equality California, one of the state's largest gay rights groups.

As a candidate for president, Obama was a staunch supporter of gay and lesbian rights. He called for repealing not only the federal Defense of Marriage Act, but also the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which forbids openly gay men and women from serving in the armed forces. He promised to help lead the fight.

Since taking office, however, Obama disappointed many gay activists by not just keeping silent but, lately, defending some of the very policies he criticized. After months of grumbling, the anger exploded in public denunciations this week after the administration filed its legal brief in Orange County federal court.

See the full report on Obama's gay rights strategies in Tribune newspapers and here in the Swamp, and please offer your own comments below:

"Anyway you cut it, it is a sickening document," David Mixner, a longtime gay rights advocate, wrote in a blog posting that echoed the sentiments expressed by many in the gay community. "What in the hell were they thinking?"

In a statement the day of their filing, administration attorneys said Obama considers the marriage ban discriminatory and wants it rescinded but is legally obliged to defend the law as long as it remains in force.

Mixner, one of several gay activists who withdrew support from a big Democratic fundraising bash next week, offered a measured reponse to Obama's planned announcement. "I am thrilled for the federal employees," he said. "I also will be especially thrilled when [the Defense of Marriage Act] is repealed."

While there is some sympathy for the president's position -- "he has enormous stuff on his plate that requires a lot of political capital," said Steve Elmendorf, a gay Democratic strategist -- many believe the concerns of gays and lesbians are once again being shunted to second- and third-tier status.

Kenneth Sherrill, a Hunter University political scientist and gay activist, recalled how the Clinton administration started with great hope but ended in disappointment when the president, for tactical reasons, retreated on gay rights. Clinton approved both the marriage bill and the policy preventing gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

"There's a fear that Obama will prove to be a heartbreaker as well," Sherrill said.

A White House spokesman said Tuesday the president was not retreating from his campaign promises. "The president remains fully committed to the ..... proposals he made," Adam Abrams said. "We have already begun work on many of these issues."

Tonight's WED Oval Office ceremony casts an especially bright light on the president's action and seemed intended to tamp down the anger he faces within the gay community. The cost to the government was not immediately available.

Obama has reached out in other ways. He named openly gay men to head the Export-Import Bank and the Office of Personnel Management. In April, gay parents were invited for the first time to bring their children to the annual White House Easter egg roll. The State Department promised to give partners of gay and lesbian diplomats benefits such as diplomatic passports and language training.

But critics say those gestures pale beside a stack of grievances that started accumulating even before Obama took office. Many were angered when he picked pastor Rick Warren, a prominent opponent of same-sex marriage, to deliver the invocation at his inauguration. Then came the decision to discharge Dan Choi, an Army linguist, after he declared on cable television that he was gay.

The administration also intervened with the Supreme Court and opposed efforts to overturn the law forbidding gays from serving openly in the military. The justices sided with the president, declining to hear a constitutional challenge. White House officials say they want Congress to repeal the policy outright instead of having to intervene on a case-by-case basis.

Nothing, however, matches the outrage provoked by last week's court filing in Santa Ana supporting the Defense of Marriage Act. The fact the brief was filed during Gay Pride Month, which Obama saluted with a formal proclamation, only compounded the sense of insult.

"You have some appointments that have been good and a proclamation," said Sherrill, who has written extensively on the history of the gay rights movement. "And then two tangible areas where the administration has done something wrongheaded and offensive. Doing nothing at all would have been a helluva lot better."

Obama's approach to gays issues seems guided by the unhappy experience of Clinton, who started his administration with an unsuccessful fight to open the military to gay and lesbian soldiers. Clinton lost the battle -- the result was "don't ask, don't tell," which allows gays to serve so long as they keep their sexual orientation a secret. The outcome angered many on both sides of the issue. Worse, Clinton squandered much of the good will that followed his election, undercutting his centrist new Democrat image for the rest of his presidency.

Now, however, many feel Obama may have learned the lesson too well. "Things have changed in the country," said Paul Begala, a top advisor during Clinton's early White House years. "I think some of the people in the White House are slow to apprehend that."

He cited gays in the military as a good example; when Clinton was pushing his overhaul policy only 43% of Americans backed the change. Today, nearly 70% of Americans favor military service by openly gay men and women.

Others noted there are no openly gay men or women among Obama's top advisors, and suggested that may result in a certain political tone deafness. In many ways, some said, it appears as though Washington is lagging the rest of the country in the debate over gay rights.

"They're talking about hate-crimes legislation and 'don't ask, don't tell' while people are getting married in Iowa," said Elmendorf, who spent years as a top aide on Capitol Hill. "It seems on this subject the politicians are a little bit behind where the American people are."