CORAL GABLES, Fla. | A smattering of gay rights protesters dogged President Obama as he raised money in South Florida on Monday - the latest in a series of protests from advocates who say he hasn't done enough to reverse the military's ban on openly gay troops.
That policy stands as one of Mr. Obama's as-yet unfulfilled promises, and has turned into a simmering political issue heading into November's elections. Some gay rights activists say the president hasn't done enough, either on his own or in pushing Congress to act, but the administration is taking a deliberate approach.
Monday's protest, in which activists from GetEQUAL used air horns to try to draw attention away from a fundraiser at former basketball star Alonzo Mourning's mansion, is not the first time gay rights protesters have tried to publicly embarrass the president over "don't ask, don't tell," (DADT) the military policy that has governed gay troops' service since the Clinton administration.
After promising during the campaign to end the policy, Mr. Obama initiated a Pentagon review of it soon after taking office, initially arguing that the military should have a chance to examine possible effects before the policy is reversed. He later tweaked that position to support a congressional proposal that would automatically eliminate the ban if the Defense Department concluded it would have no detrimental impact.
That effort failed last month as Senate Republicans filibustered a defense policy bill that would have overturned "don't ask, don't tell," contingent on the Pentagon's review concluding it was feasible to do so.
This weekend Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama, told the Human Rights Campaign's annual dinner they'll continue trying to force lawmakers to act.
"We've got to keep pushing the Senate to do the right thing and get this done," she said, a year after Mr. Obama addressed the same gathering and repeated his pledge to end the policy.
Gay rights activists say that's not enough. Noting the administration's defense in court of both "don't ask, don't tell," and the Defense of Marriage Act, they argue Mr. Obama and his top aides have enough power to take unilateral steps on the issue, such as halting the dismissal of openly gay service members.
"Regardless of the spin coming out of the White House, President Obama has the power to dramatically impact the course of civil rights history for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community," said Robin McGehee, co-founder and director of GetEQUAL. "Unfortunately, all we have yet to see from the president, who the LGBT community overwhelmingly supported, is excuses, delays and passing the buck off to someone else. That isn't change we can believe in, that's just more of the same."
It's not clear, though, whether the White House will mount a serious push for the Senate to take another swing at DADT after Congress reconvenes for a postelection session.
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