Rather it is immigration reform or the vote (or lack of one) in Illinois, everyone seems to be 'Waiting for Godet ".
Michelangelo Signorile in his column on Gay Voices powerfully tackles this issue and the lack of courage in politics these days on LGBT equality.
Back in March, during oral arguments before the Supreme Court on the Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA), Chief Justice John Roberts, echoing the claims of anti-gay
leaders, described gays and lesbians as an all-powerful "lobby,"
seemingly able to bend politicians to its will. Because gays are
"politically powerful," they may not warrant equal protection under the
Constitution, he suggested, because "political figures are falling over
themselves" to support gay civil rights. It was a breathtaking statement
since the logic could be used to make the same argument regarding
protections for Jews, blacks or women.
And,
judging from the recent actions of those "political figures," it was
completely false. Just fast forward two months: While we wait for the
Supreme Court's decision on DOMA (as well as Prop 8) any day now, the
Democratic President of the United States isn't exactly falling all over
himself for gays, refusing for over a year now to sign an executive
order banning employment discrimination against LGBT people among
federal contractors. In the face of relentless pressure from activists,
and calls from prominent LGBT donors to withhold money from the
Democrats, Obama doesn't seem even close to signing what the White House
now dubs the "hypothetical" order. Every day he waits, companies like
Exxon Mobil, which refuse to implement anti-discrimination policies for
gay and transgender people, are able to fire LGBT people, many of whom
tremble in the closet at work, fearful of losing their jobs. Doesn't
exactly sound like the omnipotent gay lobby, does it?
Democrats
in the Illinois House, even with a super majority in the legislature,
also didn't fall all over themselves for gays and lesbians in Illinois
two weeks ago, when they couldn't muster the votes to pass a marriage
equality bill. After months of anticipation, and with Gov. Pat Quinn
ready to sign the bill that had already passed the state senate, the
chief sponsor of the bill decided not to call a vote before the
legislative session ran out, giving cover to legislators who clearly
didn't get the memo from the all-powerful gay lobby.
And
the only people Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee were
falling all over themselves for three weeks ago were Republicans, like
Senator Lindsey Graham, who threatened to torpedo landmark immigration
reform legislation if it included a provision to help bi-national gay
couples stay together rather than have one of the partners face
deportation. The fact that Democrats fell for the GOP bluster so quickly
and easily, kicking gays to the curb even while knowing the GOP
leadership is desperate to pass an immigration bill, only underscores
how gays are a minority group whose rights are always precarious.
"The most vulnerable members of our community relied on [ New York] Senator Schumer
and [California] Senator Feinstein to stand up for us and end decades
of catastrophic and irreparable harm to our families caused by DOMA and
our exclusion from U.S. immigration law," wrote Lavi Soloway of the DOMA
Project. It's pitiful and insulting that Schumer and Feinstein, as well
as Senator Dick Durbin
of Illinois, also one of the "gang of eight" senators who crafted the
immigration legislation, claim to be champions of LGBT rights.
It
also demonstrates that even in this time when some pundits claim gays
have arrived, our supposed friends are still throwing us overboard,
subjecting us to ongoing discrimination. Here's hoping that, even if
John Roberts isn't among them, five justices of the Supreme Court get
that.
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