LGBT activists demand action from Obama

A year ago today, President Obama defeated Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in the 2008 presidential election.  His support cut across traditional party lines and in many ways reflected the “big tent” of a resurgent Democratic party.

Still, Obama received support from the largely democratic lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Many from the LGBT community supported him and played a critical role in his election.

Now, however, individuals across the nation and here at UW-Madison are growing increasingly vocal in their demands that Obama deliver on his campaign promises.

On October 11, over 150,000 people descended upon Washington, D.C. to demand full equality under the law for LGBT people nationwide. The National Equality March was the largest such demonstration in more than 10 years, and its demand was simple: full LGBT equality now, including full marriage rights and the repeal of the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military policy.

Hundreds of people from the UW-Madison community made the fifteen-hour trip from Madison to D.C. to attend. One of the marchers, Claire Peterson, a junior at UW-Madison majoring in genetics with a certificate in women’s studies and LGBT studies, said she could sense immediately that she was part of a transformative political moment.

“I was instantly moved by the number of people coming together from all over the country. It was empowering to know that there is such a variety of people passionate about these issues,” she said. “I really did feel like I was part of something greater than myself.”

Although the march succeeded in bringing national attention to LGBT issues, it also exposed a growing schism within the movement. The 150,000-person march was organized independent of and even against the LGBT political mainstream.

The LGBT political mainstream, often dubbed “Gay Inc.” by dissatisfied dissenters, has derided the National Equality March as impulsive and counterproductive to the movement’s ultimate goals.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., a long-time supporter of LGBT issues and openly gay himself, was one of those who spoke out against the National Equality March.

“The only thing it is going to be putting pressure on is the grass,” Frank said, in an interview with the Associated Press prior to the march.

Over time, the LGBT political mainstream has focus on legislation, lobbying and patience rather than activism. The Human Rights Campaign, an organization most often associated with the LGBT political mainstream, has built an extensive fundraising network to support its lobbying efforts in Congress.

The pace is slow and incremental, but HRC President Joe Solmonese remains confident in his organization’s approach.

Solmonese said in the future he will be able to look back on the many victories Obama accomplished. including enhancing LGBT equality.

The HRC has been lobbying for years to include sexual orientation, gender and disabilities as protected categories in U.S. hate crime law.

Last week, The HRC scored a victory when Obama signed The Matthew Shephard and James Byrd Junior Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law.

The bill—named for two victims of infamous hate crimes—represents a significant building block for future LGBT legislation.

However, many LGBT activists are fed up with waiting. Sherry Wolf, activist and board member for the National Equality March, expressed her frustration to a group of UW-Madison students and community members during an event held on campus last month.

“With an executive order, President Obama could repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ tomorrow.  He could add LGBT to the civil rights act. He has the power,” she said.

Many have suggested that much of the tension between incremental LGBT right supporters and more radical LGBT activists displayed during the National Equality March is the result of a generational divide. 

“We are seeing a huge general difference between older people and the newest generations,” UW-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin said. “It does reflect a very different distribution of attitudes among the young rather than the middle-aged.”

Wolf said the National Equality March marked the genesis of a movement driven by young people to reclaim the national debate about the direction of gay rights from the more restrained LGBT political mainstream.

“We are tired of the bankrupted HRC strategy of incrementalism,” she said, calling upon the UW-Madison LGBT student community to continue pushing at both a local and national level for LGBT equality. “The time to act is now.”