Attendees of the 10th
annual LGBT Leadership Council fund-raiser for the DNC Thursday
were greeted by protesters carrying signs that read "Gay
Uncle Toms" and "265 Discharged Since January 20,
2009."
Attendees of the 10th
annual LGBT Leadership Council fund-raiser for the Democratic
National Committee Thursday in Washington were greeted by
protesters carrying signs that read "Gay Uncle Toms" and
"265 Discharged Since January 20, 2009."
When
Wisconsin reresentative Tammy Baldwin arrived, she
chatted with the spirited flock of about 25 and then pivoted to
enter the Mandarin Oriental Hotel as cries of "Don't go in,
Tammy!" and "Shame on you!" followed her.
"I think it's so
important that as gay and lesbian people who are denied equal
rights, we do feel an impatience and a frustration, and it's
really important that that be expressed both outside and
inside," she said.
Aubrey Sarvis,
executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, was
one of the detractors camped outside the event. "Tonight
we're here to send a strong message to the vice president and
to the president that it's time to end the silence on 'don't
ask, don't tell,'" he said. "His presidential leadership
and commitment is needed up on the Hill."
A long list of LGBT
activists had also registered their discontent by simply
declining to attend the dinner: activist David Mixner, former
Clinton adviser Richard Socarides, millionaire Bruce Bastian,
prominent Obama supporter Stampp Corbin, blogger Andy
Towle, and the entire board of the Stonewall
Democrats.
Despite the
controversy, about 180 people showed up to hear Vice President
Joe Biden speak for a price tag of $1,000 to $30,400 per plate.
The event brought in nearly $1 million, up from about $750,000
last year, according to a Democratic Party source.
But the scene was not
one of total discord between inside and outside. Some DNC
staffers working the event were also wearing red, white, and
blue "265" buttons as a reminder of the number of gay and
lesbian service members who have been discharged from the
military since President Barack Obama took office.
When Vice President
Biden took the stage, he told the crowd that he had
specifically asked to speak at the event and that his wife,
Jill Biden, had also requested to address a Gay, Lesbian,
and Straight Education Network event earlier this
month.
"I am not unaware of
the controversies swirling around this dinner," Joe Biden
said, "swirling around the speed -- or lack thereof -- that
we're moving on issues that are of great importance to you and,
quite frankly, to me and to the president and to millions of
Americans."
Biden thanked people in
the room for their hard work and dedication during the
election.
"More importantly , I
want thank you for being a critical -- critical -- voice for
keeping the nation focused on the unfinished business of true
equality for all of our people; and I know and this
administration knows that we have so much more to do," he
said. "I promise you, I promise you, with your help we'll get
there in this administration."
Biden ticked off a list
of priorities for the community, starting with receiving a
standing ovation for saying with great gusto, "We will repeal
the Defense of Marriage Act with your help!" He touched on
"don't ask, don't tell," the Domestic Partner Benefits and
Obligations Act, employment nondiscrimination, the HIV travel
ban, and hate crimes.
"It all is for one
purpose and that is, securing equality and dignity -- equality
and dignity -- for all Americans," Biden declared.
But if the vice
president gave a well-received and heartfelt speech, those who
attended the dinner were less taken with the overtures made by
the DNC chairman, Virginia governor Tim Kaine.
"He didn't really
seem to recognize what it meant for the people who were in that
room to show up," said LGBT activist Peter Rosenstein,
calling his speech "disappointing."
Rosenstein said he did
speak individually with Kaine about making sure that Congress
doesn't interfere with the District of Columbia's right to
determine whether same-sex marriages would be legal and
recognized in the city.
"He said he would
work with us on that," Rosenstein said. "But he didn't run
down the litany of issues that the vice president did during
his speech -- it lacked a real commitment to showing what the
DNC is going to do on our issues."
Follow us on Twitter. 
Follow us on Facebook.
Page 1 of 1