Hildebrand to Obama: Don't Defend DOMA

"I’d like to see the president and Attorney General Holder announce that they will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act and to agree with the judge’s findings in the Massachusetts’ court case. The other thing I would say related to DOMA is that holding out hope that Congress will repeal DOMA is a crazy idea. I don’t foresee in my lifetime Congress having the guts to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act." Congress isn't going to do anything and the Executive branch should abandon the most promising cases for dismantling DOMA. So, Mr. Hildebrand, are you in favor of the continuation of DOMA or do you have a secret plan for getting rid of it by some means other than legislative or judicial? I can see why Hildebrand is a good fit with Obama. He's very good at using double speak to say nothing. It's like Obama's statements that he's against discrimination of g/l couples but he's in favor of the right to discriminate against us.

I fail to understand why any gay man or woman would want to serve in the military that hates them because of their sexual orientation. Why don't we just tell them to kiss our ass in peace times but especially in time of wars? Fuck the DADT and fuck the military. At age 18 when one was required to sign up for selective service, and because I was honest about my sexual orientation, I was classified 1-Y (Not suitable for military service). In civilian life I became a very successful entrepreneur. It was not I but the military who lost a potentially good leader.

My three words: "Shoulda been Hillary."

Frankly, I'm disappointed in the 'gay community leadership' generally, of which I suppose this guys one. The prioritize of DADT then DOMA then ENDA seems completely backwards to me. There are so, so many middle-American gays that have to keep their lives hidden just to keep their livelihood. With ENDA in place, many, many more gays would be willing to come out and be visible, and more willing to take positions on the other issues, like DOMA and DADT. That would have done so much more to move us into the 'mainstream' than anything else. Now, it'll probably be another 14 years before we get a chance like this.

Steve Hildebrand you should join HRC and have lavish cocktail parties and dinners for our failed president to date since you share the same apathy for the gay communitys constitutional rights. I do agree about our real enemies and say drop the bomb on Salt Lake City and on every Mormon man who believes he should be able to have as many spouses as he wants and a gay man shouldn't even have one spouse. Drop the bomb! The parties is over HRC.

Screw you and your "Don't hate Obama." I'll hate him if I goddamn please, and I do, quite frankly. The bastard was NOT my choice for President, for many reasons. Voting for a black man just so I can prove how liberal and progressive I am and how much I'm NOT a racist - is racism at its very worst. Not voting for him because he's a self-confessed Christian fundamentalist who uses his delusional faith and mythological superstitions to decide on policies touching on the civil rights of minorities was the ONLY smart thing to do in the 2008 election. But no - all you namby fucking pamby politically correct morons out there had to make your statement and prove you're not racists. Nope - having an Asian boyfriend (because having a black boyfriend is SO 80's...) isn't enough to prove it - you must vote for a black man with very conservative leanings. IDIOTS!!! You got what you deserve - a Republican in Democrat's clothing that's very worthy of hating.

It isn't just DOMA. A leader LEADS. Obama's failure to issue an executive order ending dismissals under DADT is a disgrace. Truman had no difficulty in issuing an executive order in 1946 intergrating the Armed Forces- long before the Brown vs the Board of Ed decision ending segregation in 1954, and the Civil Rights Voting Act of 1964. Truman was a LEADER. His famous saying, "The buck stops here," was a maxim he lived by. PRESIDENT OBAMA, DO YOUR DUTY, END THE DISGRACEFUL DISMISSAL OF GAY MEN AND LESBIANS UNDER DADT.

Mr. Hildebrand, The base is not only not excited, we are absolutely furious at the lack of progressive legislation and crap legislation that this Administration has been conspiring with the far right to get passed. The Obama Administration has thrown us under the bus each time a piece of legislation has come up for a vote (health care reform, financial reform, etc.). We have NO incentive to go to the polls this November and if DOMA is not repealed and ENDA enacted by 2012, I will not be going to the polls then either. I will simply vote with my Masters Degree and my required $10K to emigrate to Canada.

I disagree with Steve Hildebrand on this issue. Unlike George W Bush, who issued multiple statements on law after law stating that his administration would only enforce what they chose to, President Obama is attempting to treat the law in a true Constitutional manner. On any given issue, the judiciary should have the benefit of two well-argued points of view on which to base its decisions. It is tempting to selectively apply ideals only when the issue being debated doesn't affect us politically, but doing so only reinforces the expansion of executive power sought by the Republican party. Sure I think DOMA should be repealed, and in my opinion, even the best defense of the law will be inadequate. But I don't think federal laws should be overturned without a fair, true debate on the merits of the issue and certainly not at the behest of a single individual.

The Obama Administration has essentially committed malpractice by squandering our opportunities of having large majorities in the House and Senate to pass substantive LGBT legislation. Forget the whole thing about too many other important issues - that is BS. The bottom line is that if he wanted to make us a priority, he would have. I, like many people in the Community, are beyond frustration. We got screwed. If it would be difficult to get ENDA through the Senate now, how are we supposed to do it when we lose 5 or 6 seats in November. The Obama Administration has so far only done small steps, most of which could easily be reversed by the next administration. They did not want to get involved in DADT until absolutely forced to. In some ways (but not the Supreme Court), I would have preferred having a Republican in office because at least we would have known where we stood. Still don't understand why you would allow one of your most active supporters to turn against you.