Obama and Gay Rights-Part I

President Obama finally broke his silence on gay rights by issuing a proclamation on June 1st, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Then he repeated his "gays and lesbians have a friend in the white house" mantra, albeit in a halting manner, during his interview with Brian Williams.

But so far President Obama's overtures have done little to quiet the LGBT community's dissatisfaction with him, which has grown from private grumbles to loud criticisms. From blogs to mainstream media such as CNN, everyone is questioning President Obama's past assertion that he's a "fierce advocate" of gay rights, given his inaction so far on his campaign promises, despite the swift adoption of gay marriages in five states since his inauguration.

Much has been written on this topic. Both Andrew Sullivan and Dan Savage have articulated the source of the LGBT Community's frustration with the Obama Administration, better than I'd ever be able to. So the question is, are we too impatient and asking too much of a President who is dealing with daunting tasks such as a struggling economy, a reform-or-die healthcare system and not to mention a hot potato, Comprehensive Immigration Reform?

My answer is no. Because President Obama himself famously said that a president should be able to multitask, and so far he has done exactly that, taking on many thorny issues at the same time. He passed a gigantic economic stimulus bill. He's rescued the banking industry. He's rescuing the auto industry. He signed an executive order allowing the use of federal money for stem cell research. He's withdrawing troops from Iraq and redeploying them to Afghanistan. He's about to give a big speech in Cairo on US relationship with the Muslim World. He's taking a hard line with Israel to force them to accept a two-state solution. He's working on healthcare reform. He's working on immigration reform. He's doing everything for everybody, sans the LGBT community.

His ambitious agenda is a clear indication that President Obama will NOT be happy just being the first black President, he intends to enter the history books as one of America's greatest presidents, not just because of the color of his skin.

And I'm pretty sure he has an agenda for gay rights too, unlike his predecessors. I also believe that he did his calculations and decided the LGBT community can be placated for now with just rhetorics. After all, he has given them big words and promises, for a community that's used to insults, that should be good enough for a while.

But President Obama, as smart and wise as you are, you can't be more wrong this time.

Senate to hold UAFA Hearing

An encouraging development: Senator Patrick Leahy will convene a congressional hearing on UAFA next Wednesday, June 3rd.

For a legislation that never made it out of the committee, this is indeed a significant step forward. However, the outcome of the hearing remains unclear: will it mean that UAFA will finally come to a committee vote and advance to the full senate/house for a floor vote? Or is it merely a move to make sure UAFA has a place in the upcoming Comprehensive Immigration Reform? From the IE blog post, it seems that the latter is more likely.

If UAFA does become a part of CIR, how optimistic should we be?

Many prominent Democrats like Harry Reid and Charles Schumer have expressed confidence of a CIR passage by the end of the year. The unknown factor is whether or not the conservative Republicans will mount the same relentless attack as they did during the Bush Administration, successfully killing CIR in spite support of Bush and many pro-immigration Republicans. While many Republicans have realized that being an anti-immigrant party will push their already dwindled support to further oblivion, this simple fact has yet to dawn on its extreme right wing, who is apparently comfortable being a regional party. This wing will no doubt continue to see CIR as an opportunity to launch another attack on the Democrats and the moderates in their own party. While circumstances have changed quite a bit since 2007, CIR is still very much an uphill battle. As one politician put it succinctly:"Compared to CIR, Healthcare Reform is a cake walk."

And that's saying something.

The Graduation

My partner's Commencement Ceremony was a bitter-sweet moment for the both of us.

When she lost her job two years ago, our options were extremely limited. The only way for her to stay, and for our relationship to survive, was to go back to school.

It wasn't an easy decision. Independent as she is, it was hard for her to have to lean on me for financial assistance. For me, living paycheck-to-paycheck again was a rude awakening-I had to bid farewell to the financial freedom I thought I had obtained upon graduation.

But fate is not done with us yet. Her years of experience and newly acquired MBA degree were faced with the worse economic crisis of our time, and so far the crisis is winning: employers bail as soon as the word "sponsorship" is mentioned.

It shouldn't have to be this way. If we were a straight couple none of this would have been a problem. I would have been able to sponsor her for her greencard and remove the biggest obstacle in her job search.

But I can't.

I never thought I'd become an activist, much less a gay activist. But here I'm, with everything I have, fighting for our rights to be together. Yes, frustration and desperation set in at times, but every time I look at her, I know I can't give up.

The government has no right to stamp an expiration date on our relationship.