June – Pride Month

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.

Obama isn’t the first to make this proclamation – it just feels like it after the last 8 years. Bill Clinton put out similar nods once he was in his second term and didn’t have to worry about potential fallout.

I find it a little funny that in his proclamation, he lists several things that he promised to take care of during the campaign, but hasn’t done any visible work on since taking office. Even with broad public support for the elimination of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, there hasn’t been any (public) effort to change the law.

I understand that DADT isn’t just an executive order, it’s now a federal law so it isn’t a simple pen stroke. However, DOMA is also federal law and Hillary Clinton has chosen to offer similar benefits to same sex couples as are offered to “opposite marriage” couples. Obama could assign a low priority to it’s enforcement – he could also stress the third part of the law that is often forgotten “Don’t Pursue”.