LGBTQ Activists heckle President Obama

President Obama, at a fundraiser for California Senator Barbara Boxer, was heckled by GetEqual, an LGBTQ rights group.  Here's the video:

And a link to the relevant story:  Los Angeles Independent.

Several commenters to this story on Queerty.com speculated that Obama's promise of "We're going to do that" when hecklers shouted for him to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" will come back to bite him later.  I tend to agree.

Thanks to my friend, Free, for alerting me to the story and the discussion that followed.  I asked Free if he thinks that ENDA will pass.  I then asked him if he thought that President Obama would sign it.  See, I don't think that it WILL pass, saving President Obama the unfortunate choice of which segment of the population he will ostracize by signing it into law.  And make no mistake; if ENDA gets to his desk, whichever way he decides to go will piss off some group.

I feel very much let down by President Obama.  I understand that he has many balls to juggle and that recovering from our horrible recession is, and should be, the nation's first priority.  I appreciate the fact that the Health Care Reform was signed into law.  I also applaud him for his recent order that hospitals accepting Medicare/Medicaid can't discriminate and must let the patient decide who can visit and make medical decisions on their behalf.

But it's not enough.  I feel that Obama is doing just enough to trot out to the LGBTQs in 2012.  "Look, I appointed openly gay people to my administration (but not in any positions of real power).  Look, I ordered a study on Don't Ask, Don't Tell (even though several military leaders are for repealing it).  Look, I ordered hospitals to actually act humanely (because even the Republicans realize they can't fight this without looking like the bigots they are)."

I lost a group of friends over just this argument.  When Obama appointed Brad Kiley to the head of the Office of Management and Administration, I was deliriously happy, until I looked at what the Office of Management and Administration actually does.  Kiley is basically a pencil pusher with no real authority to do anything; he implements the policies that Congress decides federal employees will have.  When I complained to my friends that this smelt of pandering politics to me, they pretty much jumped on me en mass.  "But I want full marriage rights now.  I'm tired of waiting," I said.  They told me to be patient; that it takes time.  And one of them actually asked me "Were you planning on getting married anytime soon?"

I should explain:  They were all straight, married people.  Asking me if the reason that I wanted civil rights because I wanted to get married was akin, in my mind, to asking Rosa Parks "Are you planning on riding the bus tomorrow?"  I sent them an email saying that I was incredibly offended and, though I'd already forgiven them for offending me, it was just too exhausting to try and explain myself to them every time we had a discussion.  They didn't understand; after all, the world is made for them.  Not so much for me.

So, my baseline opinion hasn't changed (and yes, I would actually like to get married now).  I want my full civil rights and I want them now.  I want my gay family who are so inclined to be able to serve our country openly, without fear of expulsion.  I want to be able to leave property to my partner if I were to die without it being taken away by the state in a challenge.  I want to be able to adopt, or at least have the option to adopt. Hell, I want to be able to give blood.

I'm tired of waiting.  Obama did some good things but they are not enough.  If the government tried to please everyone during the civil rights era, Rosa Parks would still be riding in the back of the bus.  Why should he pander to the right-wing conservatives now?