Obama Renews Promises to Dismayed Gay Leaders

But angered rights campaigners want more than just talk

(NEWSER) - President Obama has invited gay rights leaders to the White House next Monday to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, the New York protests seen as the start of gay liberation. It's unclear whether Obama will address the strong criticism he's recently faced from gay and lesbian advocates. One leader said that while he hoped Obama would lay out a vision for expanded rights, he was afraid the president might be "having people in for shrimp cocktail." More»

President fires away at GOP contenters at gay rights fundraiser

(NEWSER) - Ah, election season—when politicians remember that they once had guts. President Obama swung hard at GOP presidential hopefuls last night, blasting them for not condemning the crowd that booed a gay soldier at a Republican debate on Sept. 22, reports the Hill . "We don’t believe in the kind of smallness that says it’s OK for a stage full of political leaders—one of whom could end up being the president of the United States—being silent when an American soldier is booed," Obama said at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization. More»

White House takes comedians more seriously, Harwood says

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama isn’t exactly quaking in his boots over the gay rights protesters that marched on Washington yesterday. The administration views the advocates as “part of the Internet left fringe,” CNBC correspondent John Harwood said on NBC last night. “One adviser told me, ‘those bloggers need to take off the pajamas, get dressed, and realize that governing a closely-divided country is complicated and difficult.” More»

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama has done next to nothing for gay and lesbian Americans since coming to power, but liberals keep insisting that he's a closet supporter of same-sex marriage and open military service. That's ridiculous, writes James Kirchick in the Washington Post, who sees no reason to assume Obama will act. "Whatever he 'really' thinks," he writes, "Obama's stance on gay marriage is virtually indistinguishable from that of John McCain." More»

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama has called himself a “fierce advocate of equality for gay and lesbian Americans,” but with legalized same-sex marriage spreading to state after state and “don’t ask don’t tell” ripe for repeal, he’s been silent, complains Eugene Robinson in the Washington Post. Washington politicians can let the states and the courts sort out gay marriage, “but that’s a dodge, not a stance. It certainly can’t be confused with leadership.” More»