We already knew that Obama's a riveting speaker. And his joke about opening for Lady Gaga was a surefire hit. But he didn't even give the gays a timeline for his promise to repeal "don't ask, don't tell." Is that all we get from our self-proclaimed "fierce advocate" in the White House? Puh-lease! Besides, all of us gays don't have the same agenda. As an atheist slut, I rank a religious institution like marriage right up there with gay baptism. I'd happily settle for civil unions. They may not have some god's stamp of approval, but this fairy thinks it's time to denounce that dusty old book of fairy tales which is so often held up to denounce us. And although I support equal rights for everyone including gays, I personally can't comprehend our desire to serve in the military. How could we look at a baseless war for oil like the one in Iraq and think, "I want to go die in something like that"? Yes, we should have the right to serve if we want to, but I just wish we were enlightened enough, as a people with compromised rights ourselves, to respect the rights of Iraqis who we've been murdering for the better part of a decade as part of a war begun by the greatest dunce of a president in our history! In his address to Sunday's crowd at the mall, Dan Choi, an openly gay first lieutenant facing discharge from military service, repeated the word "love" over and over again. If he's so concerned about love -- other than his own -- why does he want to join a mass, mis-directed killing machine? An ineffective killing machine at that. Dan was one of the few, desperately needed Arabic interpreters in the force so it makes no sense to fire him. Unless the goal isn't to actually ever win the war... Then there's the question of timing and political expediency. What if Obama repealed "don't ask, don't tell" today? Can you imagine the how much money Republicans could raise on that unpopular decision? Conservatives could add "pervert undermining the moral fabric of our society" to their current characterizations of Obama as "racist", "socialist", "marxist" and "muslim and "Hitler." Of course we can't ever give up our fight for equality, but gays are a hot button issue which will always get the right wing hopping mad. I'd like to continue the fight to reign in the NRA's powers so that bullets stop spraying in schools and wannabe assassins stop showing up packing heat at town hall meetings. And prevent actual assassins taking out more late term abortion doctors -- there's only one left in the whole country! But we can't make wedge issues a priority right now with precious health care hanging in the balance. If we don't throw our full support behind getting some kind of health care passed, Obama may be branded a lame duck president and pave the way for a Republican Congress in 2010 to scotch ANY progressive legislation. How does that work for ya? After decades of national inaction on gay issues, we don't want to hear "Stay at the back of the bus!" from a president who promised change. But health care reform certainly affects me more than a desire to die for greedy oil and defense barons in wars without strategies. Or gay marriage. And with the prevalence of AIDS in our community, health care is a gay issue. HIV is the pre-existing condition from hell! As a resident of NYC, I may be in a liberal bubble. Until watching the speeches at the mall, I didn't realize that in 36 states it's legal to use someone's sexual orientation to discriminate against housing them. I'm also not in long-term relationship craving the benefits of a state-sanctioned union or have a lover dying in the hospital whose bigoted family has denied me visitation rights. But I'm a person who needs health care first. And a gay person second. And the vote on health care is tomorrow! How can that NOT be gays' and everyone else's primary focus NOW? The gay community is slow to mobilize on a large scale over anything and I'm happy to see our activist spirited reignited -- but if we're going to do it, couldn't it just wait a teensy bit longer? Besides, what self-respecting gay schedules a march to conflict with something which our entire community cherishes -- BRUNCH!
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