"In December, while trying to quiet the furor over his invitation of Rick Warren to take part in his inauguration, Barack Obama reminded us that he had been a "consistent" and "fierce advocate of equality for gay and lesbian Americans." But at the end of its first 100 days, his administration has been neither.
What makes this especially disappointing is that it comes during a crisis-driven "change moment" in our country's history that not only cries out for leadership but presents a particularly good climate for making substantial progress on gay equality.
....
I understand that the president has his hands full saving the economy. But across a broad spectrum of issues -- including women's rights, stem cell research and relations with Cuba -- the Obama administration has shown a willingness to exploit this change moment to bring about dramatic reform."
What makes this especially disappointing is that it comes during a crisis-driven "change moment" in our country's history that not only cries out for leadership but presents a particularly good climate for making substantial progress on gay equality.
....
I understand that the president has his hands full saving the economy. But across a broad spectrum of issues -- including women's rights, stem cell research and relations with Cuba -- the Obama administration has shown a willingness to exploit this change moment to bring about dramatic reform."
Socarides also goes on to point out how completely the President has avoided discussing LGBT related issues since taking office:
"As president, Obama barely mentions gay and lesbian Americans. During his first 100 days, he has done so only while defending his selection of inauguration speakers. He was silent after the announcement of the Iowa decision -- one of the most important gay civil rights victories ever."
The entire article is very much worth reading, as Socarides recommends ways in which Obama can become the fierce advocate he claimed to be just a few months ago. One of these suggestions is appointing an openly gay or lesbian policy advisor to oversee the government's efforts on equality issues for the LGBT community.
I think that is a fantastic idea and much more likely to actually happen than the earlier suggestion of a Cabinet level position that was being advocated by Equal Rep a few months ago.
One thing that President Obama has been far better on than his predecessors is appointing openly LGBT people to government positions (though, sadly, none at the cabinet level!). With a new spot opening up on the Supreme Court, he's got another chance to make history and could do so if he nominated Kathleen Sullivan, an out lesbian who was the Dean of Stanford Law School and is regarded as a top constitutional scholar. She's also worked on several key LGBT rights cases, including the historic Lawrence v. Texas, before the court.
Let's hope that Sullivan's name is high on the President's list!
I've been all for giving President Obama the benefit of the doubt on LGBT issues, in spite of warning signs during the primary campaign and the choice of Rick Warren to play a role in the Inauguration. I wanted to wait until we'd seen what he'd actually do for us once he was in office before making any judgement.
I'm not completely without hope yet, of course, but if these first 100 days are a preview of what's to come, things aren't looking promising. We're certainly better off than we were under Bush and than we would have been under McCain, but I don't want to settle for things not getting worse. I want the actual change we were promised.
I think that is a fantastic idea and much more likely to actually happen than the earlier suggestion of a Cabinet level position that was being advocated by Equal Rep a few months ago.
One thing that President Obama has been far better on than his predecessors is appointing openly LGBT people to government positions (though, sadly, none at the cabinet level!). With a new spot opening up on the Supreme Court, he's got another chance to make history and could do so if he nominated Kathleen Sullivan, an out lesbian who was the Dean of Stanford Law School and is regarded as a top constitutional scholar. She's also worked on several key LGBT rights cases, including the historic Lawrence v. Texas, before the court.
Let's hope that Sullivan's name is high on the President's list!
I've been all for giving President Obama the benefit of the doubt on LGBT issues, in spite of warning signs during the primary campaign and the choice of Rick Warren to play a role in the Inauguration. I wanted to wait until we'd seen what he'd actually do for us once he was in office before making any judgement.
I'm not completely without hope yet, of course, but if these first 100 days are a preview of what's to come, things aren't looking promising. We're certainly better off than we were under Bush and than we would have been under McCain, but I don't want to settle for things not getting worse. I want the actual change we were promised.
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