"Congress explicitly passed a law that took away power of the executive branch to end this policy unilaterally," he said. It is "not a situation where with a stroke of the pen I can end this policy."
But many lgbts want it to end now, period.
On the risk of sounding wishy-washy, I can see both sides.
The policy is wrong, point blank. But it affects a lot of people. Now I know polls say that many in the military and in the country don't have a problem with lgbts serving openly, but to me, the trick IS how the policy is done away with.
Something that will affect the military on a complex level cannot be taken care of with a simple stroke of a pen. I don't care if Obama is the president. If he does it this way or in the courts rather than through Congress, it could create a resentment of the lgbt community and a backlash
And backlashes seem to be something that the lgbt community never plan for. I remember when Lawrence vs. Texas was struck down. The lgbt community was up in a celebration. We had finally knocked the sodomy laws down after years of having them over our heads as sort of a "Sword of Damocles."
"That will show people that we aren't inferior," we seemed to say.
And the religious right came back and said "you wanna bet."
By partly using a statement by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia about how the elimination of the sodomy laws would cause gay marriages, the religious right galvanized themselves and the nation into an anti-gay marriage fervor that whipped us like government mules.
And we are still feeling the effects of that.
It's definitely something for folks to remember in lieu of the "we want it and we want it NOW" attitude.
On the other hand, again the policy is wrong. If lgbts want to serve openly, they should be able to and I understand totally the point of view of lgbts who are angry at the President over this. Obama did promise to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell. And you shouldn't have to wait on rights which should already be yours. You don't feel like you are being treated like a human being. It takes away your dignity and self esteem.
So I am going to pray on the matter.
Meanwhile, if you feel so inclined, please tell me what you think about what's going on.
BUT don't be rude.
4 comments:
Do you remember when anti-rights groups had to think twice before appealing the Prop 8 decision? That's because an adverse ruling in SCOTUS would end any and all discriminatory laws everywhere. It is literally playing for ALL THE MARBLES to appeal that decision.
So if I wanted to overturn DADT and had already told the DoD to implement my wishes (which the Air Force has done today), I would appeal this verdict to higher court. I would continue using the hilarious and argument-free Bush-era cheat sheet to make my case. I would do my best to see this case rise through the judiciary the same way Brown v Board and Roe v Wade did. IOW, I'd do exactly what the Obama DoJ is doing right now.
Let's say Obama did exactly what the firebaggers demand. What would stop a future president from implementing a new version of DADT? Nothing! And the issue would no longer be about ending DADT, but whether the president has "overreached."
BY all means, let's not risk a backlash and let our rights languish while Obama fights them in court, despite not being obligated to.
No thanks. I'll go with the courts. The judicial branch IS one third of the government after all.
Ugh, I don't care HOW it ends, just that it DOES. Wishing Obama would get on with it, already, and sign the damn order.
scalia also said that lawrence v texas was going to invalidate anti masturbation laws. and i am not sure he was joking when he made the comment.
obama cannot do anything but follow the approved course of action. repeal in the congress.
Post a Comment