Subscribe to Breaking NewsLowenstein: DOJ sets meeting with LGBT legal groups
The past few weeks have been exhilerating for all of us in the LGBT community who pay attention to politics. The exhileration hasn’t all been from positive sources– disappointments like the DOJ’s memo on DOMA, President Obama’s lackluster federal employee rights order, and the DNC’s callous handling of gay outrage have hit hard– but it has been exhileration. The LGBT community has been talking about policy and politics, people are paying attention, and apathy seem less cool (and less widespread) than it did a few weeks or a month ago.
I’m not being naive. In order to force real change, we’re going to need sustained outrage, sustained protest, sustained attention. And that’s tough to generate.
But getting results, however small, helps.
And the Department of Justice inviting LGBT legal groups to a meeting to start discussions on an upcoming case that challenges the constitutionality of DOMA? That’s a direct result of the community’s outrage to the first DOMA memo, and it’s an important result.
It is anticipated that the groups invited by the DOJ include Lambda Legal and GLAD (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders). The case they’re discussing directly challenges Section 3 of DOMA, which states that for the purposes of federal law “the word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.” Given the relatively slow progress on repealing DOMA legislatively, a legitimate legal challenge to Section 3 of DOMA could be an important development. Including smart, pro-equality legal minds in the discussions is progress for the Department of Justice. So kudos to all who applied pressure after the first disastrous DOMA memo. Let’s keep it up.
I’m not yet convinced that Obama is a better alternative to what we could have had (Ron). I hope Ron is right in the long term. I still have hope that he is.
But what I’ve seen so far, as to our community, is a lot more Clinton. I would always prefer an honest enemy to a dishonest friend. Bush at least said what he wanted to do (misguided and deceived as that was) and tried to do it. So far Obama has said what he intended to do and at best failed at – and at worst contraticted – everything that came out of his mouth concerning us.
The wolf is far less dangerous than a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Neil
OK, we’ve got to keep up pressure on Barack and make sure progress is made on our issues. The DOJ motion in court for DADT was a mistake on the Administration’s part. Now, they’ll have to act more decisively for us, or let the court’s act for us. But, I hope we’re not going to be too nasty to Mr. Obama. He is a lot better alternative than what we could have had. There has been so much vitriol in these comments posted. If he does act for us further (and maybe we should give him a chance…it has been a whole 5 months since his inauguration), then those who say we should cut funds/support to him and DNC, should then put up more funds for him and DNC if they come through.
Pres Obama says DOMA is discriminatory, the DOJ says it isn’t.
unless the DOJ now agrees to argue in every court case that DOMA is discriminatory even if it is existing law, then this meeting really doesn’t change anything.
What to expect? DOJ will stand by their “Defense of DOMA” that it’s not discriminatory and comparisons to incest are legally valid. They may promise to say it more nicely.
Unless DOJ Authors are fired and the defense is refilled, the existing defense of DOMA will stand and be used in every court case going forward.
Obama’s doing this because (1) he knows we’re mad and (2) we stopped contributing to him and the Democratic party. We’ve got to let him and congress know that we’re still mad, and they’re not getting a penny until they pass hate crimes protections, ENDA, and repeals of DADT and DOMA. As a group, we’ve got money. Let’s make them work for it.
Don’t expect anything out of this. This is just a little butter on the poison. Obama is gutless.
This is typical DNC. A nice feel good meeting where people are lied to and then nothing will be done. It’s like the RNC’s RUC or whatever the called it with Mary Matalin.
Basically – it’s shut up queers.
Melissa G is a Republican plant.
What the DOJ filed in the Smelt case was not a “memo.” It was a Notice of Motion and Motion to Dismiss per Fed’l Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Yeah, facinating, I know. Part of the motion is a Memorandum of Points and Authorities which set out the now infamous legal argument. So really, better to call it a brief than a memo. I, along with many others, will be down at the Federal Courthouse in Santa Ana on August 3 for oral argument. It would be great to see Judge Carter’s courtroom packed.
Yea! I sent Obama a heartfelt letter. I am hoping for a reply. I hope it worked. I will still be praying. (Jumping up and down) I had hoped somebody listened!
“I’m pretty sure this is more the result of “negative reinforcement” than any epiphany on the part of Obama and party. People have been leaving the DNC, sending e-mails saying “no more funds from my fairy ass until YOU do something””
Common misconception, but what you describe is not ‘negative reinforcement’. Negative reinforcement refers to removing an unwanted stimulus or situation in order to make a desired behavior more likely, e.g. ‘if you finish all of your peas, you won’t have to do the dishes tonight’. Giving an unwanted stimulus or situation OR removing a wanted stimulus or situation in order to make undesired behavior less likely is punishment.
Somebody at Justice finally woke up and remembered who is President and who put him there.
I’m pretty sure this is more the result of “negative reinforcement” than any epiphany on the part of Obama and party. People have been leaving the DNC, sending e-mails saying “no more funds from my fairy ass until YOU do something” and the media finally lifted the gay “cone of silence” that seemed to be in place for so long.
In this case, money talked because it threatened to walk!
The gay community’s demand to join the United States Military and thus use violent force to protect heterosexual parented family’s children from tyranny and injustice is ludicrous since gays will not use violence to protect their own children (biological, adopted [where legal] or just gay children in general) from tyranny and injustice at home!
The queer population has enough military technological knowhow (including nuclear and biological weapons technology) to virtually match any military in the world in every aspect including the US Armed Forces. Why are you people taking this oppression crap without a military fight when you have the advanced weapons knowledge to fight back and destroy the entire United States thus certainly capable destroying every community who wishes to be oppressive towards gays! Just remember, most fighting age conservatives with military training are casualties of the Middle East Wars. There will not be a more opportune time to strike for at least another quarter of a century.
You people ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Every marginalized racial group used violence and / or the threat of violence to gain respect from the governments that oppressed them. Masculine gay men love to mock gender non-conforming men for their weakness and passivity yet gender non-conforming straight men at least had groups like The Weather Underground who fought violently for their freedom and beliefs while so-called masculine gays never did a violent thing for their freedom. Gender non-conforming gay men have at least used unarmed violence to initiate violent conflict (ex. Stonewall Riots) which is more than masculine gays have ever done. Even feminists have used more violence than both masculine and effeminate gays have in their struggle for respect and equality.
The gay community has so many people terminally ill with AIDS that would have nothing to lose by fighting for their community but instead choose to be worthless AIDS bags by sitting on their butts with HIV negative men’s genitals in it, killing more of their own instead of the enemy for just a few months more of meager personal indulgence!
The lesbian transvestites that call themselves tranny boiz or transmen are no better. They huddle in fear with other lesbian women rather than pick up firearms and fight like real straight men do when politically marginalized. At least it is understandable why they won’t fight. They are women after all unlike the AIDS bags mentioned in the previous paragraph or the gay sexually motivated transvestites who oxymoronically call themselves “non-op” transsexual women.
The queer political attack dog can skillfully do a menacing circling dance (posturing) around its opponents and occasionally barks (protests) but it has no bite (physical attack); a fact that is obvious to everyone in the world except to queers. This dog sounds like the perfect pet for sadistic Christians, Republicans, and unfortunately Democrats as well to give to their children. The parents can safely bring up their children in their own image by teaching them how to kick this dog and have the dog perform amusingly self-demeaning tricks throughout its life knowing that this dog will never come back and bite them even if its life depends on it!
Note: I am a heterosexually oriented (attracted exclusively to men) transsexual woman who would be a lot safer being disassociated from the queer community that the public is forced to consider me a member of thanks to groups like GLAAD than being coercively associated with them. I was raised in the violently mean streets of New York City by a mom who was raised in the heart of Irish Republican Army Country. I can fight for my own well being a lot better without you people. The IRA made the mistake of fighting the British for their political freedom with the utmost of determination while eagerly giving their souls away to the Italians who mocked them! I won’t make the equivalent mistake by fighting the Christian Right for political freedom with the utmost of determination while eagerly giving my soul away to the queers who mock and endanger me by conflating to the public their transvestites with people who share the same medical condition as my self and my boyfriend.
Exhilarating.
Jennifer is exactly correct. In this country, we must push on all 3 sides of our government to accomplish our goals – Administration (email email email to the white house), Congress (more emails, calls, send money to those who agree with us) and Courts (SMART lawsuits.)
This is a very good step, but we as a community has to keep up the heat our president and state Representatives. As my mom used to say ‘money talks, bullshit walks.’