Gays feel short-changed by Obama

Having trouble making change, Mr. President?

Gay Americans, infuriated and dismayed by a pair of shockingly anti-gay legal briefs filed by President Barack Obama's Justice Department, are mailing pennies to the White House as part of a "Lost Change" campaign aimed at shaming the president into keeping his promise to pursue equal justice for all.

"Mr. President, please be the bold leader that we thought we voted into office," Paul Sousa, founder of Equal Rep, wrote in the letter accompanying the penny mailed to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C. 20500

Obama won the White House after campaigning as the most gay-friendly presidential nominee in history.

He vowed to get Congress to lift the ban on gays serving openly in the military and to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prohibits the federal government from recognizing gay couples' marriages. DOMA means the 1,000-plus federal benefits linked to marital status, such as Social Security spousal benefits, remain out of reach for legally wed gay Americans.

On Obama's watch, patriotic gays — 252 at last count — continue to be booted out of the military. And Obama's administration jolted gay Americans early this month by asserting to the Supreme Court in Pietrangelo v. Gates that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is constitutional and "necessary to preserve the military's effectiveness as a fighting force."

Then on June 11, the rage of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans began boiling over: The new president's legal team filed a breathtakingly hostile 54-page brief in Smelt v. United States that compared gay marriage to incest, trivialized gay relationships, minimized the sweep of the Supreme Court's two major gay-rights breakthroughs and absurdly declared DOMA "infringes on no one's rights." Hailing DOMA as "entirely rational" and constitutional, the brief said it preserves "scare resources."

The brief claimed DOMA, passed in 1996 when Congress was in a lather over Hawaii's first halting steps toward opening marriage to gay couples, was not "born of animosity."

The Justice Department is America's lawyer, one throwing its considerable weight behind ensuring that two federal laws continue to discriminate.

Obama has the power to reverse course.

So DOMA protestors targeted his Chicago health care speech. And pennies have just begun to rain down on his White House.

Another telltale moment lies just ahead: By June 29, Obama's Justice Department must respond to a promising DOMA challenge filed in Massachusetts by eight married couples and three widowers.

The nearly unimaginable turn of events within the Obama administration contrasts with the steady stream of positive developments:

— A Glengariff Group of Chicago poll found a huge jump in support in Michigan for gay marriage — with 46.5 percent approval, up from 24 percent in 2004 just before voters inserted a ban into the state constitution.

— The U.S. Conference of Mayors has endorsed gay marriage.

— New York Republican Joseph Bruno, former majority leader of his state Senate, has changed from supporting civil unions to gay marriage: "Life is short, and we should all be afforded the same opportunities and rights to enjoy it."

— A new Gallup Poll shows 69 percent of Americans — including most regular churchgoers, conservatives and Republicans — support gays serving openly in the military.

Meanwhile, the outrageous DOMA brief out of a Justice Department controlled by the president who promised to be a "fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans" prompted Joe Solmonese, head of the gay Human Rights Campaign, to write Obama: "This brief should not be good enough for you. The question is, Mr. President — do you believe that it's good enough for us?"

Mr. President, a penny for your thoughts.

Deb Price of The Detroit News writes the first nationally syndicated column on gay issues. To find out more about Deb Price and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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