The New York Times' Caucus Blog has more:
President Obama will speak to a gathering of gay rights activists this weekend, a day before thousands of people are expected to march on Washington in a demonstration calling for greater legal protections for gays, lesbians and transgendered Americans.
Mr. Obama’s appearance on Saturday at the annual dinner for the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights advocacy group, represents a significant show of support for gay rights at a time when many prominent gay and lesbian activists have been questioning the president’s commitment to their issues.
Many gay rights activists have become increasingly vocal about their frustration over what they see as tepid support from Mr. Obama. While the president has professed support for overturning the ban on gays in the military and called the law that precludes federal recognition of same-sex marriages discriminatory, he has not engaged on gay rights issues as actively as some had hoped.
Heh. Isn't that an understatement?
OK, OK, I know that Obama and Congressional leaders have plenty on their plate right now with health care, the economy, and climate change/energy. But come on, shouldn't they at least make more of an effort to include some time to deal with the major civil rights issues of our time? If they have time for bank bailouts, they can make time for us.
Even our good ol' Senator Reid knows that it's time to get moving on LGBT equality. I just hope that President Obama meant what he said last winter in being a "fierce advocate" for equality.
Come on, The "Offense on Our Marriages" Act is still on the books. Good soldiers are being unfairly discharged for simply being honest and coming out of the closet. LGBT workers in the private sector can still be "legally" fired for coming out in as many as 43 states. Oh, and let's not forget that we have special elections next month in Washington and Maine that could very well decide the fate of hard-earned legal rights for LGBT families in those two states!
This weekend would be a great time for the President to speak up, especially on the weekend of the march. It would be sad if we had to declare that Lady Gaga is doing more for LGBT equality than the President our community worked so hard to elect.
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