Obama's Gay Rights Quagmire...He's In Deep With This Issue

(Gay Rights Advocates march in Washington, DC)

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(Is Pres. Obama in trouble with his base as it relates to the Gay Rights community?)

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Gay Rights Marchers Press Cause in Washington

Impatient and discouraged by what they see as a certain detachment by President Obama on their issues, gay rights supporters took to the streets Sunday in the largest demonstration for gay rights here in nearly a decade.

The rally was primarily the undertaking of a new generation of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocates who have grown disillusioned with the movement’s leadership.

Known as Stonewall 2.0 or the Prop. 8 Generation (a reference to the galvanizing effect that the repeal of California’s same-sex marriage law had on many young people), these activists, in their 20s and 30s, are at odds with advocates urging patience as Mr. Obama grapples with other pieces of his domestic agenda like the health care overhaul and the economic recovery.

“I think this march represents the passing of the torch,” said Corey Johnson, 27, an activist and blogger for the gay-themed Web site Towleroad.com. “The points of power are no longer in the halls of Washington or large metropolitan areas. It’s decentralized now. You have young activists and gay people from all walks of life converging on Washington not because a national organization told them to, but because they feel the time is now.”

The rally on Sunday and a black-tie gala on Saturday hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay rights advocacy group, made for a glaring dichotomy. Mr. Obama, who spoke at the dinner, had the crowd on its feet reiterating his pledge to end the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and declaring his commitment to gay rights as “unwavering.”

But at the rally, some gave the speech low marks for lacking anything new and failing to acknowledge several major issues confronting the movement. In the words of Billie Myers, a musician who spoke to an eager crowd of tens of thousands on the west lawn of the Capitol, “I’m sorry, but I didn’t like your speech.”

The president did not lay out a timetable to repeal the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military, voice support for any of the battles going on at state levels to allow same-sex couples more recognition under the law nor mention the march.

“He knows this march is happening, and he can’t even acknowledge it?” said Robin McGehee, 36, a co-director of the march. Ms. McGehee took issue with people she believes are giving the president a pass.

“In our community, there are people working hard to build a relationship with the president and people screaming in the streets for their rights,” she said. “There is an urgency with the people on the streets and a sense of ‘Oh, he’ll come around’ with the people who ate dinner with him.”

The Human Rights Campaign, which helped organize the last gay rights march on Washington in 2000 but had virtually no involvement in Sunday’s event, stirred up some controversy over the weekend after its president, Joe Solmonese, wrote a letter to supporters urging them to take Mr. Obama at his word. “It’s not January 19, 2017,” he wrote, referring to what would be the last day of Mr. Obama’s presidency if he were to win a second term.

While generally supportive of the president, many marchers said they felt that he had not delivered on campaign promises he made to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans.

“I think he has a lot on his plate,” said Rachael McIntosh, 25, of Worcester, Mass. “But I’d hoped we’d be a priority.” Ms. McIntosh raised a sign that read “Nobel Peace Prize. Earn It!”

Organizers of the march encountered considerable opposition from within gay political circles and from those who argued that it was hastily planned and would divert resources from campaigns at the state level.

Representative Barney Frank called the march “emotional satisfaction” for its organizers and said of their intention to pressure the Obama administration, “The only thing they’re going to put pressure on is the grass.”

The organizers were rating the march a success, saying that at least 150,000 people had attended, though the authorities gave no official estimate of the crowd size.

The marchers included many who were not gay but attended to support gay friends.

Lisa Kimmey, 25, drove all night with gay friends from Chicago so she could attend the march with them. “If I can get married, if I can get my partner’s health insurance, then everyone else in this country should be able to. It’s 2009, and it’s unbelievable to me that they don’t have that,” Ms. Kimmey said.

Dave Valk, 22, the student outreach coordinator for the march, said he believed that many people his age were embracing gay rights as the civil rights struggle of their time. “There are a lot of people getting involved not just because it’s a gay rights movement but because it’s a generational movement,” he said. “People feel like they’re part of a shift, that this is important.”


Sources: NY Times, MSNBC, Google Maps