Obama Follows on Gay Rights -- Again

I've noted before that I keep having a feeling of deja vu this year as once again Barack Obama seems to be in dithering mode rather than a leadership mode on issues important to the Democrat Party base and on gay issues in particular.  It's the same thing that we saw in 2009 and it helped insure a GOP sweep of statewide office here in Virginia.  Hopefully, this year will see a different result in November given the abject insanity of the GOP ticket, but Obama is not helping matters.  A piece in Politico looks at Obama's lack of leadership on LGBT issues, particularly ENDA.  In 29 states gays can be fired at will, yet Obama won't even sign an executive order that would protect federal workers in gay hating states like Virginia.  Here are some article highlights:

Activists for same-sex marriage could use a master grass-roots campaigner as they take their fight from the Supreme Court out into the states – but they’re not going to hold their breath for Barack Obama to lead the charge.

Even Obama’s greatest contribution to the gay-rights cause was a passive one: He chose not to have his Justice Department defend the constitutionality of DOMA in court. And his first public statement after the law was struck down was out of the smartphone of a DOMA challenger – not the pomp of a Rose Garden ceremony.

For now, Obama is focused on the ruling. As he traveled aboard Air Force One to Africa, Obama applauded the court’s decision and said he was directing his Cabinet to “review all relevant federal statutes to ensure this decision, including its implications for federal benefits and obligations, is implemented swiftly and smoothly.”

Yes, I am being hard on Obama.  But the reality is that for gays in 37 states, our relationships still receive no legal recognition and in 29 states we can be fired at will by the "godly Christian" folks.   Being treated as a second class citizen gets old and has a corrosive effect.