Two recent court decisions on gay rights have put Barack Obama in a tight spot

  Recently a couple of issues have arisen that have put Barack Obama in a tight spot. These two issues are both court decisions involving gay rights; the first is a Massachusetts court decision that ruled the “Defense of Marriage Act” unconstitutional and the second, and even more recent, a California court decision that ruled the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy unconstitutional, and has ordered the military to stop enforcing it.

  Earlier this year a Massachusetts judge ruled that DOMA was unconstitutional based on the 10th amendment, ruling that states have the right to decide the issue of whether or not gay marriage should be legal in the individual states. I happen to agree with this decision, as I wrote in this post and my “About Me” page because I believe in states rights and believe gay marriage is a states rights issue. 

  Barack Obama’s position on this issue is a little less clear; during the campaign he claimed that he believed marriage was defined as being a union between one man and one woman, while also claiming that he did not agree with DOMA. His regime has challenged the Massachusetts ruling because he claims that while he opposes DOMA he feels he must defend it as federal law.

As a policy matter, the President has made clear that he believes DOMA is discriminatory and should be repealed,” said Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler. “The Justice Department is defending the statute, as it traditionally does when acts of Congress are challenged

  This is where his position on the issue of gay marriage gets a little cloudy to me. During the campaign–as I stated above–he claimed that he believed a marriage was between one man and one woman, yet he claims he also believes that DOMA is discriminatory policy, wouldn’t that mean that his campaign position is also discriminatory?

  This contradiction has not gone unnoticed within the gay community and with gay rights activists who are already dismayed by what they perceive as the slow pace with which Barack Obama has addressed the issues related to the gay community.

  This may have put Barack Obama on even shakier ground with the gay community than he already was, but the news of the California court decision on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has thrust the spotlight directly on Barack Obama with regards to gay issues. Will Barack Obama appeal this decision as well?

  While Barack Obama and his regime as of yet have not taken an official position on this ruling, if Robert Gibbs’s comments can be used as a barometer of the president’s position–and as his press secretary I think it is safe to say  he echoes the president’s position, if he doesn’t he shouldn’t be in that position–it sounds as if Barack Obama’s Department of Justice may be readying an appeal of this decision as well.

“I feel strongly this is an action that needs to be taken by the Congress and that it is an action that requires careful preparation, and a lot of training,” said Gates. “It has enormous consequences for our troops.”

  Robert Gibbs has stated that the issue of gays in the military is an issue that should not be decided by the courts but rather by the Congress and we can only assume that Barack Obama feels the same way–as do I. The problem is that the Congress has been unable to pass a repeal of the military’s policy, that does not mean one judge can unilaterally change the policy by herself. Not even the president is powerful enough to do something like that.

  Barack Obama has said that he will end the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t tell” policy, but he is willing to wait until the military concludes its report and the Congress votes on it, yet this one judge has decided that the policy should be rescinded without taking into account the possible repercussions.

  If Barack Obama does indeed decide to challenge this ruling based on the way the policy was rescinded–even though he agrees with the premise behind this decision–this will only further alienate him with the gay community.

  These two issues combined have backed Barack Obama into a corner. He is faced with the dilemma of trying to placate moderate America by not appearing to be too far to the left but at the same time he is facing increased pressure from his far left base who feel that he has not done enough, not only on gay issues but on all issues from healthcare reform to cap and trade. Barack Obama is in the midst of a mid-term election juggling act and there appears to be no easy way out for him.