Obama Addresses HRC

(Oct. 11) President Obama gave a rousing speech to a crowd of queer rights activist Saturday night insisting he is fully committed to their causes.

"I’m here with a simple message: I’m here with you in that fight," Obama proclaimed.

The more than 2,000 attendees at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner in Washington listened as the president acknowledged the impatience many queer activists have expressed about his failure to pass legislation addressing the myriad of issues faced by the LGBT community promised during his campaign since taking office and his commitment to moving forward on those issues.

"I also appreciate that many of you don’t believe progress has some fast enough. I want to be honest about that," Obama said. "Even as we face extraordinary challenges as a nation, we cannot and will not put aside issues of basic equality."

Obama reaffirmed his commitment to ending the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy banning gays and lesbian from openly serving in the military.

"We should not be punishing patriotic Americans who have stepped forward to serve this country," Obama said. "I'm working with the Pentagon, its leadership and the members of the House and Senate on ending this policy, legislation that has been introduced in the House to make this happen, I will end 'don't ask, don't tell.' That's my commitment to you."

Yet, many activists have been calling for a timetable or specifics on how he would end the policy.

"An opportunity was missed tonight," said Kevin Dix of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. "When are we going to get this done? We didn't hear any of that tonight."

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network recently released numbers procured from the Department of Defense finding that minorities and women were the majority of military personnel being discharged under DADT.

Obama did not offer any plan to put an immediate stop to the discharges of LGBT persons from the military.

The president also called on Congress to repeal the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA), saying gay couples should have the "same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country."

Obama noted that new hate-crimes legislation, which would make it a federal crime to assault people because of their gender identity and sexuality, was approved by the House earlier this week. Obama predicted it would pass the Senate and promised to sign it into law.

He also addressed those opposed to gay rights. A recent Pew Research Center poll asked about homosexual behavior, and about half responded that it was morally wrong.

"There's [sic] still laws to change and there's [sic] still hearts to open," Obama said.

Although acknowledging that some queer issues have been sidetracked by the myriad of issues facing the nation; from the economy to healthcare reform and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Obama encouraged the crowd to remain steadfast and trust his commitment to ensuring equality for the LGBT community.

"Progress may be taking longer than you would like as a result of all that we face. Do not doubt the direction we are headed and the destination we will reach," he said.

Cleve Jones, creator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, said Obama delivered a brilliant speech but failed to answer the community’s most pressing question: when?

"He repeated his promises that he's made to us before, but he did not indicate when he would accomplish these goals and we've been waiting for a while now," Jones said.

Despite his critics, many activists remained encouraged by Obama’s actions and promises.

"Tonight, President Obama told LGBT Americans that his commitment to ending discrimination in the military, in the workplace and for loving couples and their families is 'unwavering.' He made it crystal clear that he is our strongest ally in this fight, that he understands and, in fact, encourages our activism and our voice even when we’re impatient with the pace of change. But these remarks weren’t just for us, they were directed to all Americans who share his dream and ours of a country where “no one is denied their basic rights, in which all of us are free to live and love as we see fit,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese.