Obama Prepares to Address LGBT Crowd at White House 'Pride' Reception

I continue to have very low expectations for the White House Pride reception today. Indeed, I see it as just one more crumb being disingenuously thrown to the LGBT community. Real action is needed, not just more meaningless window dressing. I am hardly alone in this feeling. As Chris Johnson at the Washington Blade reports, many continue to be most unhappy with Obama:
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Many activists, including LGBT bloggers, have expressed displeasure with the White House for holding a Pride reception with so many issues outstanding for the LGBT community — and for restricting the invitations to the event.
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Robin McGehee, co-chair of GetEqual, the group responsible for many recent protests on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and other issues key to the LGBT community, expressed skepticism about the reception and said she saw it as a fundraising effort for the Democratic Party.
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McGehee, who wasn’t invited to the reception, said invitees should only go to the White House if they intend to advocate on behalf of LGBT people before the president and shouldn’t take part in the event as recreation.
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“In reference to the leadership that’s going in, I hope that it’s not just going in to share tea or cocktails, but it’s actually to go in and come out with answers about when the ['Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell'] discharges are going to stop and when ENDA’s going to get to the floor for a vote,” she said.
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As for who has been invited, the only plus is that the typical self-anointed LGBT apologists for the Obama administration are not on the list. Here's more from the Blade on the invite list:
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The White House is holding Tuesday’s reception, which features remarks from Obama, to commemorate June as Pride month. The number of invitees and the specific names of people who received invitations wasn’t public before deadline.
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People speaking anonymously to the Blade have said invitations generally were restricted to the heads of state equality groups, members of the LGBT community with compelling stories and a contingent of LGBT youth.
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It would be nice if Obama was actually moved to action by some of these compelling stories, but I for one will not be holding my breath.