Obama Says Hell End Militarys Dont Ask, Dont Tell Tactic
“I will end dont ask, dont tell,” Obama said in an address last night to at the Human Rights Campaign national dinner. “Thats my commitment to you.”
The president gave no timetable for acting and said he realized many in the audience “dont believe progress has come fast enough.” He said they would look back at his time in office and be able to say that “we put a stop against discrimination whether in the office or in the battlefield.”
Obama spoke the night before the National Equality March, which may draw thousands of people to the National Mall in Washington demanding “equal protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states,” according to the Web site for the event.
Obama promised during his presidential campaign to support equal rights for gays and lesbians, including ending the policy on gays in the military. As a Democratic senator from Illinois, he supported legislation expanding health benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. He supports civil unions for gays, though not same-sex marriages.
Criticism on Pace
The lack of movement on the “dont ask, dont tell” policy has brought him criticism from some gay groups.
“Many of us had hung our hats on major legislation including repealing dont ask, dont tell, and we recognize those are heavy lifts, but the president had very powerful and strong rhetoric during the campaign and we think his administration has really been uneven,” Darlene Nipper, 44, deputy executive director of the Washington-based National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said before the speech.
Nipper said the gay and lesbian community “expects concrete policy changes, including the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and an executive order to stop the inappropriate release of gays and lesbians from the military.”
In his speech, Obama said progress will be made.
“Do not doubt the direction we are heading and the destination we will reach,” he said.
The president also said that theres not “a single issue” his administration deals with “that does not touch on the lives” of the lesbian and gay community, citing his efforts to revive the economy, pass health-care legislation and manage the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Companies, Benefits
More than half of the nations largest companies already offer benefits for same-sex domestic partners, including Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp., Eastman Kodak Co. and Walt Disney Co., according to a study by the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign.
Last week the U.S. House gave final approval to legislation adding gays to the list of groups covered by federal hate-crime laws in the biggest expansion of such protections in decades.
The bill, a compromise measure between the House and Senate, now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Obama said he expects it to reach his desk and he vowed to sign it. “I can announce that after more than a decade this bill is set to pass and I will sign it into law,” he said.
The president cautioned that any approach to providing greater equality cannot rely solely on legislative or legal means. He also told the group that it will take time.
“There are still laws to change and hearts to open,” he said.