The Human Rights Campaign has not been a very strong advocate on behalf of LGBT people in many people's opinion. I'd be included among that group. The HRC has turned into a mouthpiece for the administration and Democrats in general - so when they start getting forceful something is up. I don't know what it could mean. They've written an "open letter" to the President, asking for, among other things, a stop-loss order to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
Here are the relevant parts of the letter:
Last week, lawyers for your administration asked for an emergency stay from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, seeking to end a worldwide injunction of the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" law while they work to overturn a federal judge’s conclusion that this law – one that you have called discriminatory and contrary to our national security on many occasions – offends the protections of our Constitution. I continue to struggle with how your administration can defend a law you oppose, and how it could be even remotely constitutional for a statute to single out one group of brave Americans, because of who they are and who they love, and order them serve in silence and deception. How can our government have a duty to defend a statute that is clearly so contrary to our Constitution’s guarantee of equality for all?
They're starting to sound like GetEqual all of a sudden. These are things that those of us who are more abrasive activists have been saying all along, and we've certainly been ramping it up as the election draws nearer. We wanted, more than anything, for the administration to do something on Don't Ask, Don't Tell very quickly before the election so they and the Democrats could reap the benefits of their successes on LGBT issues. Now, it's a week before the election, and gays are (very understandably) pissed. Now, I'm not staying home, and I think it's especially important to vote and donate to our allies in Congress (Rep. Patrick Murphy comes to mind) and newcomers who will be on our side (Alexi Giannoulias, for one.) But I do understand it, and I do understand the frustration - we've begged and pleaded for Democrats to act so that this pre-election clusterfuck doesn't happen - and yet here it is.
More from the letter:
While we continue to call on your Administration not to appeal, if the Justice Department does insist on defending this discriminatory law, I strongly urge you to instruct government lawyers to inform the appellate court that the Executive Branch believes that the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" law is unconstitutional.
It's hard to really believe that the HRC believes this now. I'm wondering if it's not just an election gimmick. Those who trust the HRC more may have a different opinion, though. It just seems strange that a whole bunch of us have been screaming about this all year long - we've been called names and bashed and marginalized and told to wait - and we didn't stop. And now suddenly eight days before the election, the organization that actually has the President's ear and has advisers in his administration is parroting the things we've been screaming for a year?
And now the big finish:
If we fail to achieve legislative repeal this year, and if you will not abandon the defense of this discriminatory law in court, then it is imperative that you use your clear authority as President to end the discharges. Anything less is unacceptable.
"Your clear authority"? It'd be funny if I weren't hoping for it to come true so freaking much. We've been talking nonstop about the President's clear authority to do this all year long and we've been told that it would be "just like Bush", or "temporary" or any other excuse for the President not to act. And truth be told, many of these excuses have come from organizations like the HRC itself. And now, out of nowhere, they recognize the President's clear authority to unilaterally end the discharges.
I do not know what has happened to the Human Rights Campaign, but I hope it sticks.