Subscribe to Breaking NewsRuby-Sachs: The Big Gay Speech We Wish Obama Would Give
This Saturday, President Obama will be the keynote speaker at the Human Rights Campaign’s big DC fundraiser. As the largest gay rights fundraiser in the U.S., it’s a big deal to score a personality like the President. But his presence has many members of the LGBT community worried. Here’s a guy who has done virtually nothing for gay rights since his election. What can he possibly say?
I’m sure his speechwriters have cooked up something special for the night, but I’ve got a few ideas of my own. I’ve written a little speech for the beloved President – the kind of speech we wish the man would give, just once.
Tonight is a night to celebrate the Human Rights Campaign – the work they have done, tireless, well organized, well executed work, to promote the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in this country. It’s also a night to celebrate all of you, the people who donate their money and time to help make this country a more equal and just society.
But it is also a serious night, a night to reflect on where we have been and, more importantly, a night to plan and commit to where we are going.
I have a plan and I am ready for that commitment.
I understand that, in the face of the economic crisis facing us at home, the military crisis facing us abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan and the environmental crisis facing the international community, there is a very real struggle for basic human rights engaged in everyday by LGBT people in the United States.
This struggle is not overshadowed by the big news issues. It is not lessened by them. It is a constant and painful inequality. I know something about this kind of discrimination. My family knows something about this kind of discrimination.
And so, I do not stand before you tonight with excuses for the delays in Washington, for the setbacks and political conflicts that have crippled many important equality initiatives and stalled others.
I am here tonight because my administration is committed to full equality for LGBT people in this country. I pledged that commitment early in the campaign and have not swayed from that position.
I believe in the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the passage of inclusive immigration reform and the widespread protection of LGBT employees from retribution for their sexual orientation or gender identity.
I believe in hate crimes legislation that protects Americans from homophobia as well as racism.
And here’s what I’m going to do to make the things I believe in, a reality.
Within one year, by November 2010, we will introduce comprehensive immigration reform. This immigration package will include spousal sponsorship for same-sex couples in a committed relationship. Immigration reform is a priority for my administration and no reform package will be complete without this provision for the unification of American families thus far separated by discriminatory immigration policies.
Within six months, by April 2010, we will introduce a bill repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. When we ask so much of our troops, send them back for repeat tours, ask them to fight in harsh conditions so far from home, we must support their right to be open with their colleagues and superiors. We simply cannot afford to lose anymore good people from our military simply because of their sexual orientation.
As we speak, members of Congress are mobilizing around an inclusive hate crimes bill. That is a success that is imminent and my administration pushed to include the Matthew Shepard Act in the defense bill before Congress. We will push to get it passed.
These campaigns will not happen without roadblocks. Sometimes it will seem like we are moving backwards. We have already seen this with Proposition 8 in California and the proposed Proposition 1 in Maine.
But, the United States of America is a community of people from many different countries and many different cultures. It is a nation that vibrates with diversity and rises from its people’s differences as much as their shared experiences.
We are ready for progress. We are ready for equality. We, together, are going to make that equality happen.
@Karl. My posts are correct. The Clinton team is responsible for DOMA and DADT no less than any republican. And your suggestion that DOMA and DADT are not obnoxious, but nice, is ludicrous. But who gives a $%#@^? Democrats have been awful, and so have the gay inactivists. They introduce bills that appease and are enough to satisfy the gay activists, but the laws stay on the books. My posts are about the issue of results, not these “to do” lists in legislative session.
What has happened to gay activists? When did they become dinner guests and hosts, and stop being the guy at the party everyone wishes would leave?
Instead of advocates, they have been complicit, refusing to apply real pressure with real leverage to the democratic party? Why are they content to only complain about people who are not in charge of the government? Obama and the democrats are in charge of the government. Time to act, and undue the damage they have done.
Brian O’Reilly: There were some errors in your post. Bills to repeal DADT and DOMA have already been submitted in Congress.
The Military Readiness enhancement Act (which would repeal DADT) was first introduced in March of 2005, but it never made it out of committee. It has been consistently reintroduced in every session of Congress since then. For the 111th Congress (2009-2010), it was introduced in the House on March 3, 2009.
The Respect for Marriage Act (which would repeal DOMA) was introduced back in September of this year, but it’s not on the legislative calendar due to serious doubts that it will pass (and admittedly, the legislative calendar is already very cluttered).
These bills exist and have already been introduced. They’re currently being considered, though.
Also, it is incorrect to suggest DADT or DOMA were Democratic initiatives. DOMA was written and introduced by former Republican representative Bob Barr (who, incidentally, now supports its repeal). It was passed by veto-proof majorities in both houses of Congress, and Clinton wasn’t going to be obnoxious and veto something knowing it would just be overridden anyway.
As for DADT, there were Democrats and Republicans on both sides of the issue at the time. While the bill (the Defense Authorization Act of 1994) was not passed with a veto-proof majority by the House, Clinton was likewise not going to be obnoxious by vetoing the military’s budget.
Check your facts and know your history.
@Gaystudent. When you look at the facts, a pattern of gay inactivism and false promises emerge.
Here are the facts:
The repeals are simple — they take no planning, or legislative effort, and repeal would be logistically easy because democrats control Congress and the presidency. They just come off the books. These bills are not new legislation.
Obama and his team has conflated the repeals with other more complex problems, suggesting that work on gay rights will take away from work on other more pressing matters, using words like “priorities,” and phrases like it it has to wait “in the tee.” But these repeals require no work, and won’t take any of the president’s time or Congressional time. So Obama has suggested a false choice, something he has derided. In this upcoming year the democrats can do both. They don’t want to do both.
The democratic party was complicit in DOMA and DADT; they were signed by democratic presidents and supported by many democratic members of Congress.
The democratic party loves to present itself as the party of the gays, and that is just not the fact, even if the GOP is so much more awful. The democratic party’s argument for support has always been in the nature of blackmail: “You want the GOP? Really?”
The democratic party now controls both houses of Congress, and the presidency. They want to put off the the repeals for political reasons only, at least until they win the midterm elections, I think, and/or Obama’s re-election. But who is to say they will win the midterm elections and retain both houses of Congress? Who is to say that things will all stay as they are today years and years from now? And don’t the vets thrown on their asses this month need help THIS MONTH? Don’t gay need to stop having the Federal Government take funds from their families THIS MONTH?
With friends like Mary Cheney, who needs enemies?? Joe Salmonese is a money crack whore!! As long as money is flowing into his business, he’s not doing a gd thing, except padding his wallet. Barney Frank!?!? He thinks we shouldn’t fight for our equal rights now. Really??? With friends like these?!? Forget Republicans,conservatives and religious folk. When it comes to our rights we have hoo hahs working for us in the government, that shouldn’t be there. I’m sure there will be several attacks back on me, but really?!?, really people, who’s fighting for our equal rights??
I hope that this sends at least one more person to the March on Washington on October 10 & 11th. Nobody will do right by us, but ourselves. If we don’t fight, then who do we point our fingers at?
@Brian O’Reilly While DOMA is regrettable, DADT was actually feasible at the time. It was meant to protect gay people in the military by allowing them to serve and not disclose their sexual orientation. Before DADT gays were not allowed to serve at all, they were banned. So essentially DADT changed nothing. Clinton should be praised for this bill, not condemned.
DOMA was passed with a Republican controlled house and senate.
Clinton opposes both of these measures today.
People think the president has a lot more power than he actually does. Sure he can say he’s going to do something, but he really can’t do much if the house and senate don’t introduce the bills and agree that change is needed.
RobertinWestbury is absolutely right I feel.
It’s disappointing that President Obama could change the lives of millions of tax-paying Americans with his signature but chooses not to. But the real problem is GLBT people have been discriminated against for so long that even we accept it as the norm. We allow the calculated lies of organized “religions” to dictate national policy while promoting their own self-serving agendas. We are complacent and only hope for even the smallest acknowledgement when we should be kicking down the door of every politician demanding equality. I know he’s only been in office 11 months, but now it’s time for him to act.
Democrats are responsible for the passing of DOMA and DADT. No one seems to want to hold them accountable, because gay activists are democratic voters. The GOP is not an option, but civil disobedience is an option as leverage for action. If DOMA and DADT are not repealed in a year, we stay home in the midterm elections. It’s not self destruction, it is leverage. The democrats NOW control both houses of congress and the presidency. No other time in this next year is going to be better. They could lose one of those houses of congress anyway. NOW is the time to pressure democrats into undoing what they did.
I do not believe he hates us… but…
he is a politician.
We are one year away from the congressional midterm elections. He likely will not hand the conservatives the opportunity to use any advancement of gay rights against Democrats.
And then two years later, he is up for re-election. As someone who has tried way too hard to appeal to moderate to right of center voters, he likely won’t want to defend any action promoting ‘the gay agenda.’
So, while I think he has no problems preaching to us the way it should be, to actually lift a finger to make it the way it should be is too politically risky.
That is just the political reality.
If he ever does do something for us, I don’t expect it to occur until after he is re-elected, IF he is re-elected. And he can do it by betting on our votes, because… what else are we going to do? Vote for Palin or Romney?
I never had any faith in Obama’s or any other politician’s promises. His speech is irrelevant and all that matters is what actions his administration and the legislature take. My bet is the hate crime legislation will be the biggest thing we get from this administration.
Wishful thinking my friends. This man hates us. Don’t count on anything but lovely words from him—ever.
The SNL skit that aired last Saturday opened my eyes. Obama and his administration have promised us and equality that they will not deliver. You have written a very nice speech. Unfortunately those words that we hope to hear and actions we need to see will stay in our imaginations. I have lost faith in Obama’s promises to us.
HRC continues to endorse pro-war, anti-labor, anti-immigrant, anti-choice candidates. Let’s pressure them too.
Great idea, too bad it won’t happen (and why didn’t you add him giving a deadline for DOMA instead of just committed to its repeal?).
I think the main reason he would never give this speach is that at this point he isn’t going to be caught in a lie, he’s already elected. This paragraph is not something I expect him to utter: “I am here tonight because my administration is committed to full equality for LGBT people in this country. I pledged that commitment early in the campaign and have not swayed from that position.”
A committed admin would not have produced those DOMA briefs, they would have used their executive powers to stop firing us from the military and they would have already set these deadlines.
You framed it very well…inequality does not need to wait for the huge challenges of our nation to be solved.
Too many people concede there are bigger issues, but Brian says it so much better, ours require little to no work.
Great speech. Here’s a revision:
You have my promise that my commitment is not open-ended, because the moment of political convenience will never come. Great civil rights advancement has never blown in the direction of the prevailing winds when they are achieved.
Furthermore, these repeals involve no real work, as it is undisputed that the repeals do not involve the creation of any new legislation on my part on Congress’s part. They are not enactments, like health care. They are simple, clean repeals. The only mechanisms that are reasonably effected is the errant mechanism of discrimination, which will cease operating.
I am committed to assuring that repeals of DADT and DOMA are introduced in congress withing three months, and that these laws codifying discrimination will be repealed before the 2010 election cycle one year from now.
I am mindful both that DOMA and DADT were created with democratic initiative and signed into law by a democratic president. On behalf of my party, I apologize for the discrimination gays and lesbians and their families have had to endure, due in no small part to the actions of my party. Thank you for your patience. Your wait is over.
Good speech. Add in a couple of God Bless America’s and send it to print haha.