Blind Prophecy

I have a theory (it could be bunnies) about the current foot-dragging of the federal government around LGBT rights. Why has Obama forsaken us on the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? Why is the Senate considering stalling the Matthew Shepard Act by tying it once again into a defense spending bill? Why hasn’t the House moved on an inclusive Employment Nondiscrimination Act? Why won’t the government end the ban on HIV positive visitors or sponsoring same-sex partners for immigration to the United States? Why isn’t anyone talking about a repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and a federal civil union bill (or marriage equality for that matter)? Why can’t we even get our goddammed legal marriages counted on the goddammed census?

For perspective, ask yourself when was the last time the United States Congress passed a significantly pro-LGBT piece of legislation. If you said “never” you would be right. When was the last time a President went out on a limb and made a sweeping policy change that actually benefited LGBT people? Sure, Bill Clinton banned discrimination in the federal civilian workforce and issued a few gay pride proclamations, but caved horribly on the riskier areas of support like the military ban and marriage rights. The last few administrations have inched forward on HIV/AIDS policy, but much of the immigration policies and domestic funding is still rooted in draconian 1980s fear politics and misinformation.

Now look to the states. In less than two decades we’ve gone from 0 to 20 states banning employment discrimination (and almost every major metropolitan city in the remaining states). Inclusive hate crime legislation has spread like wildfire among the states. It’s only taken us 10 years to go from civil unions in Vermont to marriage equality in 5 states (with New Hampshire, California and New York–among others–hanging in the balance as we speak) and a rapidly accelerating number of states recognizing domestic partnerships or civil unions. Yet there are also states that have neither relationship recognition nor nondiscrimination nor even hate crime protection. Places like Utah where nothing in state law can possibly be misinterpreted to give queer people an ounce of protection under the law or recourse for the discrimination we face. Sort of like federal law from a statute perspective.

So my theory about why the combined might of Obama-Reid-Pelosi seems to be getting us nothing… they’re truly afraid to open the floodgates. To end the military ban is to end one of the last great barriers to career equality, and passing ENDA would drag along those few lingering businesses who haven’t kept pace with the trends of the private sector. What’s more, to begin passing laws – any laws – that recognize that LGBT people have been subject to historic prejudice and discrimination is to give the federal courts an open door to including us as a “protected class” and that simply leads to the courts getting ahead of the legislative and executive branches on LGBT equality.

To begin down this path is to cede control of how quickly we will demand nothing less than full equality.

Why would allies be concerned about this? Why wouldn’t they support a rapid move to end barriers to full citizenship for LGBT people? Well, there are political ramifications – places like Utah aren’t going to like it much if they’re forced to recognize gay marriage by order of the US Attorney General. Not to mention the fund raising support they currently enjoy from LGBT donors who are very, very eager to see gains in queer rights (but never seem to hold these politicians especially accountable for their campaign pledges). And, of course, there’s the fear. Fear of igniting a culture war. Fear of seeing a court push the boundaries of their own support. Fear of the unknown ramifications of this rapid cultural shift around LGBT equality. Many allies are content to promise their support, to go on record with their support, but are happiest if the bills in question never actually make it to the floor.

But neither the Republicans nor the Democrats can hold back the coming change for long. In ideas like those contained in the Dallas Principles, queers are becoming tired of a 35+year delay from the federal government in taking up LGBT equality and will no longer be told to wait. Emboldened by the state-level successes along the coasts and in the courts (Lawrence v. Texas, for example), we will not sit patiently and wait for the Congress and the President to decide it’s time to pay attention.

It just seems to me that while Obama, Reid and Pelosi are afraid of how quickly and out-of-(their)-control the queer rights movement could become, we are no longer content to let them make that decision. The queers and our allies are revolting. We will open those doors and welcome the flood by any means available.

Filed under: politics, queer rights by Jere Keys