Obama Mentioned Gays Once in His State of the Union Address

By Michael Musto Wed., Jan. 26 2011 at 11:23 AM

Said he about our troops:

"Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. And with that change, I call on all our college campuses to open their doors to our military recruiters and ROTC. It is time to leave behind the divisive battles of the past. It is time to move forward as one nation."

So did he gets cheers and roses from the LGBT community?

Not really.

As gay watchdog Rex Wockner notes, HRC's Joe Solmonese said that pronouncement was "welcome news" and "the culmination of a promise."

But he added that Obama must also commit to "ending the unfair taxation of partner health benefits, prohibiting workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and ensuring that all married couples have access to the same federal benefits and protections for their families."

Similarly, GetEQUAL Director Robin McGehee moaned that Obama "missed an opportunity to lay out an agenda and strategy that continues progress made toward LGBT equality--removing the burden of being second-class citizens and acknowledging our families.

"Sadly, while national hero Daniel Hernandez sat with the First Lady to witness this historic speech, he did not have the luxury of sitting there as an equal--for that, our elected officials should be ashamed."

Furthermore, the National Center for Transgender Equality pointed out that the pending repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' "still does not allow transgender people to serve openly or to join the military."

Oh, well. Shouldn't we just shut up and applaud the crumbs we've been given?

Hell, no! Let Obama know the state of our union.

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Alissa

finds it interesting that an African American has limited desire to end a "separate, but equal" state where we need to define two distinct sets of rules for groups of people based on set of criteria. I am still bitter about the lack of action his civil rights bill that he went so far as to put on the White House.com website. I guess we have to wait for one of his children to tell him they are gay before he will push it through.

Guest

Can we be thankful for something. That was a big thing and it almost didn't happen. I would be patting myself on the back for something like that and I'm sure soon enough all those other things will follow.

Musto

I've always been for transgendered rights, you asshole, and have written about that since my column started in the '80s.

latenitebump

more comments ONLY from the white gay community. now, musto is for transgendered rights after being critized by the transgendered community.there, now, is a transgendered person SERVING in the obama administration. amanda simpson.no relation to jessica, ashley or nicole.

Alissa

OK. So now we should not push for equal rights just because he hired a TG person? How many people lost their jobs because they are TG or have been threatened and harassed at work because of this which created a hostile work environment and forced you to leave? if you make racial comments and threats at work, you can be fired..... but as TG, it is often the opposite.

I assume that means that since we have a black president that we can now re-engage in racial segregation again? No? I didn't think so.

Musto

You got it, La Gran Puta! It all makes sense now.

La Grand Puta

So Thaaaaat's why the top brass decided to open the doors to gays.......they certainly didn't do it out of compassion or because it's the right thing to do. They did it so they could go back to recruiting from College campuses. Mmmm-hmmm. Get some smart kids schnookered into signing their lives away for a trip to Afghanistan.