The Obama administration has advanced key gay issues, like ending 'don't ask, don't tell.' Obama advocates 'big America'

President Barack Obama called for a “big America” in a speech to a major gay-rights group Saturday but barely mentioned the biggest issue of all to many in the audience — the legalization of same-sex marriage.

“We believe in a big America, a tolerant America, a just America, an equal America,” Obama told the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner in Washington, where he advocated a society where people are respected, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.


“We don’t believe in a small America. We don’t believe in the kind of smallness that believes that a stage full of political leaders — one of whom could end up being president of the United States — being silent when an American is booed,” Obama said, referring to the jeers that came from the crowd at a Republican presidential debate last month after a gay soldier asked a question from Iraq.

The president received a standing ovation from the HRC audience that continued even as he kept speaking.

“If you want to be commander-in-chief, you have to start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform even when it’s not politically convenient,” Obama said, echoing similar remarks he made earlier this week at a West Coast fundraiser.

While on that trip, Obama joked: “I had some productive bilateral talks with your leader, Lady Gaga. She was wearing 16-inch heels. She was eight feet tall. It was a little intimidating.”

The Obama administration has advanced key gay issues including bringing an end to the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and the executive branch’s defense of the Defense of Marriage Act, while working to combat bullying in schools and enacting legislation against hate crimes.

“Many questioned whether we would succeed in repealing ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’” Obama said, and though it took two years, “we got it done — ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is history.”

Obama said he wants to see the Defense of Marriage Act “join ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ in the history books.”

“So, yes, we have more work to do,” Obama said. “After so many years, even decades, of inaction, you’ve got every right to push against the slow pace of change. But make no mistake — I want people to feel encouraged here — we are making change, we are making real and lasting change. We’re making real and lasting change. We can be proud of the progress we’ve already made. And I’m going to continue to fight alongside you.”

For gay rights advocates, that fight has in large part turned to pushing for the legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide, something that Obama has never publicly said he supports. For years, Obama has backed civil unions and equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered couples, and though he’s said he supports states’ rights to legalize gay marriage, he’s never gone further to call for a federal law, something that activists want him to do.

Obama made little mention of the legalization of same-sex marriage, though he did herald progress on gay rights issues that has come from places other than the federal government.

“I am still hopeful because of the deeper shift that we’re seeing,” he said. “A transformation not only written into our law but woven into the progress of our society. It’s progress led not by Washington but by ordinary citizens who are propelled not just by politics but by love and friendship and a sense of mutual regard.

“It’s playing out in legislatures like New York, in courtrooms and in the ballot box,” he said. “But it’s also happening around water coolers, at the Thanksgiving table, on Facebook and Twitter, at PTA meetings and potluck dinners, and church socials and VFW halls.”

Kids who are being bullied in school should “know that the president and first lady [are] standing right by them every inch of the way,” Obama said to applause.

Returning to his “big America” theme, Obama reached beyond gay rights and stressed the importance of passing his $447 billion American Jobs Act. “Now, you may have heard me say this a few times before — I’ll say it again: Pass the bill. Enough gridlock. Enough delay. Enough politics. Pass this bill. Put this country back to work. HRC, you know how Congress works. I’m counting on you to have my back. Go out there and get them to pass this bill.

“Ultimately, these debates we’re having are about more than just politics,” Obama said. “They’re about more than the polls and the pundits, and who’s up and who’s down. This is a contest of values. That’s what’s at stake here. This is a fundamental debate about who we are as a nation.

“I don’t believe — we don’t believe — in a small America, where we let our roads crumble, we let our schools fall apart, where we stand by while teachers are laid off and science labs are shut down, and kids are dropping out,” the president continued. “We believe in a big America, an America that invests in the future — that invests in schools and highways and research and technology — the things that have helped make our economy the envy of the world.”

Joe Solmonese, HRC’s president, heralded progress that the gay rights movement has made since Obama took office. It’s “fair to say that as a community we have accomplished more in the last two years than we had in the previous 40,” he said, citing the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and the legalization of same-sex unions in six states and the District of Columbia.

Solmonese also made a nod to tensions between the LGBT community and Obama.

“We must continue to stand with those who continue to stand with us and that includes standing proud with Barack Obama,” he said. “No president has done more to improve the lives of LGBT people than President Obama.”

At a June LGBT fundraiser in New York, Obama said he supported states’ rights to legalize same-sex marriage. “I believe that gay and lesbian couples deserve the same legal rights as every other couple in this country,” he said.

Later that month, he told a LGBT Pride Month reception at the White House that New York’s move to recognize same-sex unions was “a good thing, because what you saw was the people of New York having a debate, talking through these issues.

“It was contentious, it was emotional, but ultimately, they made a decision to recognize civil marriage. And I think that’s exactly how things should work.”

After Obama spoke Saturday night, he returned to the White House to pick up First Lady Michelle Obama and take her to Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Va., where the two are having dinner to celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary.