Human Rights Campaign Knocks Obama For Defending DOMA

AMERICAblog:

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay civil rights lobby, just sent a letter to President Obama in response to the homophobic brief Obama's DOJ filed last Thursday night. It's a good letter, but more important than its content is its existence. In politics, sending a letter chastising a friend is a far more significant act than what the letter actually says. It's just not done unless something very big and very bad happens. Usually things happen quietly, behind closed doors (especially with friends). When they go public like this, it means serious trouble is brewing. (I'd also add that HRC is known as the "nice" gay group. They don't get angry at Democrats, and they don't send letters chastising Democratic presidents. When they do, it means something.)

Read the whole story: AMERICAblog

Comments

[ekoorb]

More of this could be his Chief of Staff, who quit bothering to attend the Pride parade, even though it's by far the best-attended event in the district. Thankfully Mike Quigley, his replacement and a long-time supporter for equality, will again be marching with the community.

[TJCole]

Here this should break new ground as I am known all too often to do...

President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder are in direct violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act Title VI...

As the last I heard the Department of Justice receives Federal Funds..doesn't it..?

Read JFK's statement...as well..

Now while it specifies Race, Religion, National Origin it follows and is prima facia this also applies to our fellow gay Americans, and let's see Holder go in an argue any different why gays are specifically excluded from it's provisions...!

So they are guilty of Discrimination, and so is the entire Dept. of Justice..!

Simple as that...

Here it is ...

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor/coord/titlevi.php

From the DOJ's own web site...

Now you know why they hate me...!

[Mattylock]

Sexual preference­/orientati­on is not, as yet, a protected class, and is therefore not covered under Title VI. You are not breaking new ground, but demonstrating why the DOJ has to write the brief it wrote. Under current law, sexual preference­/orientati­on is not a protected class, and any law affecting that class of individuals is entitled to only rational basis review, which is the lowest level of scrutiny available, and almost always results in a statute being deemed constitutional. If the DOJ laid back and let the Supreme Ct. hear this case, all that would happen is the Sup. Ct. would deem the statute constitutional. Do you think that provides a good basis for repeal?

[TJCole]

Let the DOJ go in and argue that gays are specifically excluded from the protections of the 1964 Civil Rights Act title VI then I 'd like to see them do it and have Obama speak to why this is Just..!

And they have to use private funds to do so..!

[DaveVentura]

Maybe part of their plan to find new sources of revenue will be to get more marriages banned:
"To deny federal recognition to same-sex marriages will thus preserve scarce government resources, surely a legitimate government purpose."
Afterall, marriages are bad for Obama's government­...letting people get married might cause a deficit. Oops - too late on the deficit.

[LATaurus]

People need to write Obama at the White House. Obama has to hear from gays and straights alike that his approach thus far has been unacceptable.

[dali partin]

I would suggest also the Department of Justice.

[PlaceboStudman]

I for one, and I suspect many others here have been writing the white house since November, Apparently it hasn't done much good, yet.

Maybe we just need to write them more. Flood their email in box with letters, comments, questions, and yes, even complaints

[TJCole]

The 1964 Civil Rights Act was not specific to only blacks, or it would have been Discriminatory...!

Get it...?

[Mattylock]

Although not specific to blacks, it does not cover sexual preference­/orientati­on.

[TJCole]

That was then, and it should it's prima facia..!

[GlenRast]

Have gay groups used that angle in court?

[grave-robber]

And thus the party starts to devour itself from the inside... This coupled with Obama's disaster of leadership so far will usher in a long period of Republican leadership.

[Conservador-Rebelde]

Awesome... couldn't have said it better myself.

[harriscrl3]

Sounds like wishful thinking to me. Since its absolutely Ludicrious and du mb of some of you to actually think that republicans would be more concern about whether they violate human rights when it comes to Gay Americans.

you sound like a rethug to me so stop fronting.

Carol

[PlaceboStudman]

The point being that, at least Republicans are honest and upfront about their apathy toward human rights issues. I'd say that's an improvement over being 2 faced while saying one thing and doing something completely contradictory

[Mattylock]

Obama's "disaster of leadership" is, thankfully, a minority view. Have you checked his poll numbers lately?

[Conservador-Rebelde]

The poll numbers I've seen lately show 40% of Americans consider themselves conservative, while 35% are moderate, and 21% liberal.

This is a gallup poll.

Who was that you said was the minority?

[Fabienne]

Yes, because the gops have such great leaders and the entire party is united behind them. Now, could you please clarify who they are? As for the Dems devouring themselves from inside, Obama has over 80% approval from Democrats. The angry comments you see on the blogs do not appear to be proportionately representative of the outside world.

[jtown]

Obama does not have a leadership problem, the issue is with the dumb white dem senator who are to afraid to do anything out of fear of losing their damn seat. You can't blame this on the black man.

Repugs leadership is a group of old angry ass white men.

[Twopennygal]

At this point, I'm not voting for Obama to have a second term. He has spit in our faces with this brief. It's vile and base. And yes, I'm getting worked up over it. The more I think about it, the more hurt and outraged I feel.

[jtown]

Good, one more vote for repugs! smart!

[We-Are-The-Ones]

Stop emoting and get some facts. Read the actual brief adn now what others say the brief says.

And then read the Obama LGBT Proclamation at www.whitehouse.gov

[GlenRast]

The out of touch with political reality you are.

[kumusto]

I love the gay people but please give this guy a chance he has got a lot on his plate the unemployment is high is this country and the economy is in a mess so wait please you gay people he has to tackle helthcare also give him a break

[huffpomojo]

I love the straight people but please don't be silly. Pressure needs to be put on Obama and straight people need to understand that just because gay/bi people are demanding their basic human rights, it doesn't mean they are being uppity. They have been waiting their entire lives and have seen too many promises broken. Your argument is bogus because instead of ignoring the case against DOMA, he chose to aggressively defend DOMA.

[cookiejar422]

Right.. let em fix health care then he can the second tier items

[Coloradem]

Civil rights should never, ever be considered a "second tier" item.

[PlaceboStudman]

Human dignity and self respect should never be a second tier item, let alone a second term item as some wish

[DaveVentura]

So if he's so busy, wouldn't it have been easier to tell Congress he wasn't going to defend DOMA instead of spending his energy defending DOMA? The busier Obama is, that less of an excuse there is.

[Manx]

Obama brags that he can walk and chew gum at the same time.

[Coloradem]

Of course he has lots on his plate...he's the President! As such, he's expected to be able to multi-task. If he's incapable of doing so, then he shouldn't have sought the office and he should consider stepping down now.

Further, what the hell is his/our Justice Department doing equating my relationship of 14 years with pedophelia and bestiality? I'm glad the HRC has kicked him solidly in the rear...perhaps in 4 years when Obama is running for reelection I'll give them the $4000 I wasted on him this election cycle.

[Mattylock]

No one is equating homosexuality to pedophilia and bestiality. A brief requires legal precedent. Apparently, the relevant precedent involves both those issues. It is just plain ignorant to push the spin that DOJ is comparing homosexuality to pedophila and bestiality. What the DOJ is doing is laying out the relevant case law, as it should.

[expired]

OoooooK, feel better now?

[Whatashame]

Everybody with a problem wants Obama to fix everything. Well get in line.

[huffpomojo]

I do believe many of these people have been waiting their entire lives.

[Petey131]

They can wait a little longer.

[cookiejar422]

what the gay community has failed to realize that the federal government traditionally plays no role...talk to you states...ie love v Virgina

[TJCole]

You see people don't understand if you seek, "to petition the government for a redress of grievances" today, you have to take it up with, Goldman Sachs...!

[Petey131]

Oh, its cowboy TJ...the clown that entertains

[whocan]

Don't see anywhere in the brief that makes one think they are afraid of homosexuals

[huffpomojo]

Homophobia: irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals

[Conservador-Rebelde]

I noticed that too, yet the article seems to say that.

[huffpomojo]

Homophobia: irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals

[kcinci]

For all those who've been give dissenters crap over the last 2 days (Tanyars5 and We are the ones I'm talking to you first and foremost) who've decried that we've not been told to go to the back of the bus please jump to http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12827.html and read the article.

Headline reads: Obama's highest-ranking gay official says DOMA and the military gay ban currently have no chance of being repealed

So now it's official we have been told to wait until the second term (which is not guaranteed) and we'll get to you if we can.

Better yet they didn't even have the ball to tell it to American media.

[dali partin]

What the hell. If that's true, then our votes are being ransomed?

[jamaicalover]

It would have been nice had you told the truth regarding Mr. Berry the high-ranking gay official.

I read the entire interview.

He said: We don’t have the votes to do Hate Crimes right now, we don’t have the votes to do ENDA [the employee non-discrimination act], how are we going [to get 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell']?

Berry gave gay rights activists some good news, saying that a "significant announcement" will be made soon regarding equal benefits for LGBT federal employees.

[kcinci]

Insurance for their partners is great. Except because of DOMA they'll have to pay taxes on the premiums as income. Better than nothing but still discrimination as the hetero-married person get to pay those premiums pre-tax.

Still the point of the article - wait until my anticipated second term. There is no guarantee of it and in the mean time gay bashers who kill their victim get off with second degree murder and are out in ten years. Gay families collapse under the weight of no federal protections of social security, inheritance, adoption and community property and so much more.

He could, as promised, use his "bully pulpit" to start pressing the issue to the people and congress, he could stop letting the military kick out valuable service members until then, he could develop a civil rights team within the administration to work many of these issues but instead.... wait until we think there's the votes. It's a piss poor argument. He didn't have the votes for the stimulus, doesn't have them yet for healthcare reform. That what his wonderful US tours are all about. Pressure.

And the president didn't even have the balls to let this information lose to US media.

To quote our friend Harvey Fierstein in Torchsong Trilogy - "Not Enough"

[Nommo]

It would matter what Dr. King said, or would say? America hated and abused Dr. King before finally murdering him. Whenever did it matter what Dr. King said?

[TJCole]

Obama is Discriminating by "favoring one group over another", the definition written by Justice Douglas...!

What would Dr. King say...?