“Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” It works for the mobsters of The Godfather, but President Obama and the White House have been working so hard to court our enemies that they have alienated core Democratic constituencies. No group has felt this more than the LGBT community. When Obama addresses the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC, the largest gay-rights organization) annual gala this Saturday, he will have the chance to either renew his relations with this loyal Democratic constituency or incite further agitation and disenchantment.

As a candidate in the primaries, Obama positioned himself to the left of frontrunner Hillary Clinton on gay rights. He promised speedy repeals of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT, the law that bans gays from serving openly in the military) and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA, which bans same-sex marriage on a federal level). He made a number of other commitments, promising to serve as a “fierce advocate” for the LGBT community and pledging to put the full weight of the White House behind eight legislative goals. In return, the LGBT community threw much of its support behind Obama, both in fundraising and in actual campaigning. The community finally saw someone that would work for them in the White House.

Well, that didn’t happen. The day after Obama was elected, news hit the community that Proposition 8 passed in California, banning same-sex marriage in the liberal bastion. This news served as a rallying cry, and LGBTs of all ages were mobilized to start working for their goals. The spring was great for the cause: courts legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa, whereas legislators legalized same-sex marriage in Maine, Vermont, and Connecticut. Washington State passed an “everything-but-marriage” law, and legislators in New York, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia are poised to legalize marriage in the coming months. The momentum appeared to be on the community’s side, at least on the state level. Finally, pressure was mounting to enact those legislative goals on the federal level.

The LGBT community had its eye on the prize: repealing DADT and DOMA. Other initiatives, like hate crimes law and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, were now on the backburner for the LGBT community. Calls to repeal the two major laws amplified, especially when telegenic and compelling advocates like Lt. Dan Choi started coming to the community’s side. Some liberal congressional allies–most notably Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA) and new Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)–started taking action on our behalf. However, there was no word from the White House. No fierce advocacy. No support.

In fact, matters were made worse in June. A legal case had made its way through the courts challenging DOMA, on the basis that it was unconstitutional. Many LGBT advocates hoped that the courts would strike DOMA down, allowing the law to be repealed without having to navigate tricky political waters. Action by the court would also establish precedent in favor of gay rights. Now, such action could not happen under the Bush Administration, as Bush’s Justice Department would vigorously defend the law and seek to have the case dismissed. When Obama took office, legal advocates hoped that Obama would choose not to defend the law, a move completely within his rights. But in June, Obama’s Justice Department filed a legal brief not only defending DOMA, but systematically dismantling the case for repealing DOMA and comparing same-sex relationships to incest and pedophilia. When pressed by reporters, Obama and his press secretary Robert Gibbs tried to cover up their tracks, but no coherence on gay rights was evident. This was not the kind of action the community wanted from the White House.

Words were said and the LGBT community was angry at the White House. Gay rights advocates picketed an event held by Vice President Biden, and Obama invited some of the “power gays”–the presidents of the gay rights organizations like the HRC–to the White House. He also made a big show of giving federal employees spousal benefits–benefits that they could not use because DOMA is still in effect. So far, he made no public appeal for gay rights and made no effort to support the legislative agenda in Congress. The gay community, feeling agitation at being asked to finance Democratic candidates without any progress, now has a very shaky relationship with an increasingly centrist White House.

So, where do we go from here? On Saturday, Obama has the chance to address the entire LGBT community through his speech at the HRC gala. But on Sunday, gay rights advocates will have the ability to tell Obama how they feel at the National March for Equality, right here in Washington, DC. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people will be in Washington eager for change on LGBT issues. Obama has the great opportunity to channel their energy into effective change by pledging his support for LGBT rights and actually working for it. If he insists that Congress must act, he must *make* Congress act. But if Obama just tries to mollify the fundraisers in the room at the HRC dinner, he risks the opportunity to channel the enthusiasm and energy that the grassroots advocates at the March for Equality have. Instead, he will be faced with anger and resentment by one of the key constituencies in the Democratic Party.

There is a breaking point in relations between the Obama Administration and the LGBT community this weekend. With growing tolerance in younger demographics, changing viewpoints, increased legal recognition in more states, and momentum on the side of gay rights, it would be wise for Obama to choose the right (and by right, I mean left) side of this issue. For once, Obama must disregard his instinct to seek bipartisanship and consensus, and instead stand up for the civil rights that LGBT people are being denied. This weekend is about seeking equality, not defending hatred. It is time that Obama, the president that we put in office, acts.

Tags: Barack Obama, LGBT rights

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