LA Times: Obama’s “Curiously Passive” Approach To LGBT Issues

Jim Burroway

June 17th, 2009

The Los Angeles Times weighs in on Obama’s inaction on LGBT issues:

…Obama pledged to work toward the repeal of the federal marriage act, which denies gay couples such basics as filing a joint tax return. He has made encouraging noises about signing the so-called Matthew Shepard Act, which extends hate-crime laws to cover acts against gays. And he’s expected to announce today the extension of benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees. But although he appears willing to sign gay rights bills, he takes a curiously passive approach to ensuring that such legislation actually gets to his desk.

…The gap between Obama and gay rights activists appears to be growing. True, the current federal lawsuits against the marriage act and Proposition 8 fail to recognize that a hasty march can be damaging to gay rights. The current composition of the U.S. Supreme Court makes it highly unlikely that such lawsuits will succeed, and adverse decisions could set the same-sex marriage movement back by years. From an ideological viewpoint, gays and lesbians are entitled to their rights now. But well-planned timing gives them the best chance of securing those rights soon. Obama, though, has shown a dishearteningly pragmatic willingness to allow the issue of gay rights to languish. The many Americans who support these rights expect better of him.

gar

June 17th, 2009

A swing and a miss. Or probably a foul ball.

Duncan

June 17th, 2009

It doesn’t seem to me that he is being pragmatic, considering the poll numbers. There are Republicans who would vote to end DADT, so it would give weight to his claim to bipartisanship. And from the army’s point of view, the status quo is a triumph of ideology over pragmatism.
I think it is partly laziness, mostly a phobia coming from memories of Clinton’s first term. One might indeed call it a superstition.

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