Those of you who know me know that I have been very critical of President Obama in several diaries and comments ranging from civil liberties, torture and torture prosecutions, healthcare, and LGBT rights.
This past week, however, we have seen several low-hanging pieces of fruit plucked from the tree of LGBT agenda items.
First, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act became law, and for the first time the US government recognizes the rights of LGBT citizens (sexual orientation perceived or otherwise, gender identity) to not only exist, but to exist without harm inflicted upon us.
Today, President Obama continued this momentum by completing the lifting of the HIV travel ban.
UPDATE
Given some of the sadly not-so-shocking negative kossack commentary below, I've added a poll.
UPDATE II
Can someone help me with the video embed? For some reason the editor is changing the IFRAME tag to 'lt' and 'gt' tags so the videos don't show up. :(
UPDATE III
Video fixed. Thanks wader!
WaPo Article
President Obama called the 22-year ban on travel and immigration by HIV-positive individuals a decision "rooted in fear rather than fact" and announced the end of the rule-making process lifting the ban.
The president signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009 at the White House Friday and also spoke of the new rules, which have been under development more more than a year. "We are finishing the job," the president said.
The regulations are the final procedural step in ending the ban, and will be published Monday in the Federal Register, to be followed by the standard 60-day waiting period prior to implementation.
A ban on travel and immigration to the U.S. by individuals with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, was first established by the Reagan-era U.S. Public Health Service and then given further support when Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) added HIV to the travel-exclusion list in a move that was ultimately passed unanimously by the Senate in 1987.
A 1990-1991 effort to overturn the regulatory ban failed in the face of outcry and lobbying from conservative groups and bureaucratic turf disputes. The ban was upheld in 1993 when Congress added it to U.S. immigration laws.
The lifting of this ban was crucial in several ways.
- It prevented HIV+ people from other nations who may have been refugees from requesting and being granted asylum.
- It prevented HIV+ partners and/or spouses of US citizens from entering the country.
- If HIV+ parents tried to immigrate with HIV- children, they were denied.
And so forth and so on.
That said, while these pieces of legislation are fantastic, and I applaud President Obama strongly, he still has a long way to go.
Many here have asked me why I and so many other LGBT voices here and around the country have felt so at odds with this White House, particularly in light of successes like the ones mentioned above.
I want to take this opportunity to educate and discuss the real pain that LGBT citizens go through, particularly those of us who strongly supported this president from the beginning, both financially and with our time and effort.
FULL REPEAL OF THE "DON'T ASK DON'T TELL" POLICY.
DADT repeal has the support, in multiple recent polls, of a super majority of americans. In a Gallup poll over the summer it was 69%.
Gallup Poll on DADT Repeal
Take a look at these numbers:
SUPPORT:
69%: National Adults
58%: Conservatives
77%: Moderates
83%: Liberals
58%: Republicans
67%: Independents
82%: Democrats
60%: Attend Church weekly
70%: Attend Church nearly weekly/monthly
76%: Attend Church seldom/never
Those are only slightly lower polling figures enjoyed by easily passed pieces of legislation like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. So why has DADT been such a hard issue? Why is it that 2 military personnel are kicked out every single day when the support is there?
And why do so many in the progressive community, even here, not stand by us in demanding this repeal?
Unfortunately, while President Obama has the ability through DADT statute to stop loss those expelled under DADT, he has neglected to use this power.
Additionally, the US Armed Forces has been stop lossing soldiers, at the order of President Bush and the DoD, for years during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in order to keep troop levels up, something that many around here, including myself, have bitterly complained about to our people in congress.
His administration has also made statements on the issue that fly in the face of what it actually does.
Here is a good synopsis of that:
AmericaBlog
In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, President Obama presented several new excuses today as to why he can't do anything on Don't Ask Don't Tell. He also seemed to again signal that he would be pushing to change, rather than repeal, Don't Ask Don't Tell:
The Don't Ask Don't Tell policy is constitutional, and the president never disobeys a policy that's constitutional. Obama told Anderson:
If Congress passes a law that is constitutionally valid, then it's not appropriate for the executive branch simply to say 'we will not enforce a law'. It is our duty to enforce laws.
That is, unless he issues a signing statement, as he did the other day, giving notice that the has no intent to obey the constitutionally-valid law because he thinks - thinks - it's unconstitutional. From the Hill via Huff Post:
The Obama administration announced in the statement it would disregard provisions of the legislation...
Obama's INS also gave notice a few weeks ago that it wouldn't be obeying immigration laws that it found unjust, not even unconstitutional. From NPR via Slog:
Napolitano has ordered deportations of surviving spouses and their children deferred for two years. That gives Congress time to fix the law if it chooses to.
And finally, Joe and I have cited previous examples where previous administrations, Democratic and Republican, challenged laws in court that they believed to be unconstitutional.
Additionally, President Obama has killed legislation in the House brought forward by Representative Alcee Hastings (D-FL) that would have defunded all DADT witch-hunts and expulsions
AmericaBlog
Rep. Alcee Hastings has withdrawn an amendment that would have prevented the military from using money to carry out the provisions of its controversial Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy which prevents gays from serving in the military. He says he pulled the measure under pressure from the White House and colleagues.
"I would, however, like to note that it is most unfortunate that we are not addressing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell at this time," Hastings said in announcing his decision. "We should not be appropriating funds to enable qualified service members to be booted out just because they are honest about whom they are."
The Advocate
Hastings sent an open follow-up letter to the president on Thursday, reminding him that in June, 77 representatives called for a moratorium on investigating cases of service members accused of being gay. He also called "don't ask, don't tell" a "ridiculous, bigoted law."
The Florida Democrat, who is the vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said he was also disappointed that President Obama had not responded to the initial letter.
That article is dated August 28th, btw. A full two months after the letter was sent.
For many of us in the community, the speed with which the White House acted to kill Rep. Hastings' bill contrasted with their lack of communication on the matter has proven to be a thorn.
Finally, here is another Rachel Maddow segment on President Obama and his waffling on DADT.
TRANSCRIPT: A fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian americans. Well since he has been fierce-advocate-in-chief has he repealed the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy?
No.
Has he pushed congress to repeal the policy?
Not really.
Has he hit the pause button on investigating members of the military to ferret out who is gay and who is not?
No he has not.
Has he used his stop-loss powers to put a hold on dismissals of people under the policy?
No, no he hasn't.
In fact as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, president fierce-advocate actively is still firing people from the US military because they're gay. And Captain Petrangelo's (sp?) case goes one step further. It's the first case to feature the Obama Administration arguing at the Supreme Court against a gay soldier in favor of the Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy, telling the court the policy is quote:
Rationally related to the government's legitimate interest in military discipline and cohesion
I wonder what his record would be so far if he weren't such a fierce advocate for gay rights?
Here is a report from the Secretary of the Army as well:
Secretary of the Army Says Military Ready to Lift Gay Bay
The Secretary of the Army, John McHugh, indicated this weekend that the Army is prepared to lift the ban on openly gay service if the Commander-in-Chief and the Congress decide to end the "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy, a prospect that has gathered steam in recent weeks. McHugh, formerly a Republican congressman from the conservative 23rd district of New York, is the highest official inside the Pentagon to express such support. He told the Army Times on Sunday that there was no reason to fear that major difficulties would result from lifting the ban, and that he would help implement the policy change when the time comes. "The Army has a big history of taking on similar issues," he said, with "predictions of doom and gloom that did not play out." He also suggested that repeal may come in phases, with early action involving, for example, allowing open gays to serve in some occupations and not others.
In other words, the time for DADT repeal is now. And it would not take much, if any, political capital to make it happen.
Several members of congress such as Rep. Joe Sestak, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator Charles Schumer, Rep. Alcee Hastings, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Patrick Murphy, Senator Harry Reid and on and on and on support a repeal if President Obama lend his aid.
Kossacks, the DADT repeal issue, along with many other items that have arisen during President Obama's tenure (Obama DOJ DOMA briefing comparing LGBT couples to incest and pedophilia, for example), are why so many of us feel so at odds with him and distrust his word on LGBT issues.
Seeing movement this week on the HIV Travel Ban and the Hate Crimes Bill was definitely a step forward, but we have a long way to go.
I hope this diary has been helpful in shedding light on why so many are so passionate on this issue.
Thanks for reading.