When Obama took office, he was sitting down to quite a steaming heap. We put our faith in his signs of hope, jumping (sometimes wearily) on the bandwagon that seemed too good to be true. I’ve been following his first months with my hands clasped fearfully over my eyes. I can’t even imagine how I would untangle the delicate web that cradles our disintegrating world, much less how he should attempt the task. One thread that I have been keeping my eye on is the plight of LGBT folk. (go figure) I’m sad to say that I’ve had a bad taste in my mouth since O’s Inauguration early this year. Choosing Rick Warren, uber-antigay evangelist who has compared homosexuality to incest and pedophilia, to deliver the opening prayer at the Inauguration ceremony was a blow to the LGBT community after months of queer shmoozing on the campaign trail. Obama referred to his decision as setting the ‘agree to disagree’ tone that would continue throughout his administration. As a gesture of kindness, he asked openly gay bishop Gene Robinson to lead a prayer at the Beyonce concert. If you recall, that didn’t go very well either. This hardly determines the success of Obama’s commitment to LGBT, but if I’m going to complain, I might as well touch all of the bases.

At Easter-time, the administration welcomed over 100 gay families to the White House lawn to participate in the annual Easter Egg hunt. Taking a step in the right direction, Obama wanted to recognize that gay folks are indeed “an important part of the American family fabric.” The administration received more applause as Obama appointed over 30 proud homos into senior office positions, including John Barry as the director of the Office of Personnel Management. Barry spoke at Capital Pride last week, standing by the initial steps of the Obama administration and discussing progressive policies against Hate Crimes to come in the near future. He also mentioned Obama’s memorandum that was signed a few days later. It grants additional benefits to the gay partners of federal employees, namely the abilities to use sick leave to take care of ill partners and to include partners in long-term care insurance plans. Intended to be an accomplishment for the LGBT community in our (now official) month of Pride, Obama instead received much criticism and several LGBT organizations pulled funding from an upcoming event for the Dems. Its difficult to focus on the inch we have gained when the miles ahead are so daunting. Why not extend these meager rights to the rest of us peons? Why not repeal DOMA instead of using as an excuse for limiting spousal health benefits? Earlier this month, the government dismissed the case of Christopher Hammer and Arthur Smelt who were challenging DOMA. The lawyers from the Dept. of Justice said that DOMA was constitutional and would infringe on the benefits of taxpayers in the 30 states that prohibit same sex marriage. Blah. Jennifer Pizer, marriage project director for Lambda responded by reminding everyone that “The president made very explicit and emphatic campaign promises that he opposes DOMA and would provide leadership calling on Congress to repeal it. This brief is not consistent with that promise.”

I appreciate Obama’s ongoing openness and (seeming) embrace of the gays, but what about the things we really care about? Yes, its important to send messages of acceptance through your behavior, but do you know what also sends a clear message? Taking aggressive steps against ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ My grandfather presented the argument that it was a protective measure - some of those rough soldiers might react abusively if a fellow soldier was out and proud. I told him that the issue isn’t in coming out, the issue is in allowing hate crimes to go unpunished. The more we dance around these issues, the longer the intolerance will hold presence in our society. C’mon Obama! Get with it! Now what about the politically taboo T that follows the LGB? I’m disappointed in the lack of presence of the transgendered community in the White House. Apparently, just mentioning the word ‘transgender’ in a political document is a huge step - but I think that is lame. Were any trans families invited to the Easter Egg hunt or appointed to federal office? (That’s a real question. I checked, but found no answer.) Whats the point in grouping LGBT, when our trans siblings don’t get as much recognition? Our voices need to herald as one - equal rights and protection for ALL.

The LGBT community rallied in support of Obama, contributing time, effort, and a lot of coin to his campaign. I’ve heard people defend his shortcomings with reminders of all that he has on his plate. But, unless I’m mistaken, the President has a slew of assistants to which he can delegate any number of burdens. It’s not like we are asking Obama to redistribute the Guantanamo prisoners or make space in the ever-expanding budget to bail out another bankrupt company. What negotiating is required to establish equal rights? It must be a very simple process; doesn’t anyone in the White House know how to click ‘copy’ and ‘paste’? We have to keep hounding our state representatives, congress members and even the O man himself. Amidst the Pride shot specials and dance parties, lets keep the fire going and really honor the queeros of the past by standing up for equality now.