Gay Rights Spotlight Shifts to Obama by Carter Brown

Over the past few years, President Obama has gone out of his way to defend gay rights and spread the word about equality. Now, gay activists and citizens are looking to Obama to do more. 'Fresh from historic Supreme Court arguments over same-sex unions, advocates want Obama to use his executive powers to fight discrimination at businesses, schools, and military bases and stop waiting for action from a reluctant Congress. The Supreme Court is expected to rule in June on big issues: the constitutional right to gay marriage and the right of gay married couples to federal benefits. Both are backed by Obama. Now gay rights groups are pushing for additional measures they believe are key elements for cementing equality. First on their wish list is an executive order from Obama barring federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, an act that could have sweeping impact. "There is more that he can do," said Jon Davidson, legal director at Lambda Legal, a non-profit organization supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. "He has repeatedly said as president that it's people's job to push him to do more and more, so we intend to keep doing that." So far, the president helped bring an end to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that prevented gays from serving openly in the military, signed hate crimes legislation into law, and mandated that nearly all U.S. hospitals give visitation rights to partners of LGBT patients. Last year, in the middle of the presidential election, Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage, concluding an "evolution" of his views that took years. While Obama's advisers tout his record on the issue, they make clear that an executive order on federal contractors soon is unlikely, arguing that it would carry far less weight than broader congressional action. Legislation called the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) lacks enough votes to become law. "We want to continue to advocate for legislation. We think that that's the most robust way to accomplish what we want to accomplish," White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett told Reuters in an interview. "ENDA is a priority. Right now the votes aren't there, but that doesn't mean they won't be," she said.' While I do think gay rights is rather important, I can't see Obama doing much right now as everyone is all caught up and involved in regulating gun control laws and if they should be put in place in certain areas. Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/14/rpt-after-court-gay-righ_n_3079478.html