Thats fierce, but not in the right way.

The gayternets are a buzz today. If you haven’t been following the news for the past, oh, six months you might be a little confused. Since Obama’s inauguration, all special interest groups have been monitoring his decisions and seeing how his campaign promises add up against his policy decisions. Human rights got a bit of a bump with the closing of Guantanamo. Women’s rights in the workplace got a huge step that has been decades in coming with the Lilly Ledbetter act. The steps Obama has taken so far seem to be in line with his campaign promises. We have yet to get a health care bill or solid plans for new energy development, but there haven’t been any real steps backward in these regards. All looks well….until we review the promises made to the gay community.

A ‘Fierce Advocate’ to the LGBT community is how Obama described himself to campaigners. We believed him when he said he wanted to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. We believed him when he said he supported full equality for same sex adoptions. We believed him when he said he supported a repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, effectively allowing same sex marriages to be recognized in any state.

To quote former President Bush “There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.”

So far the offenses have been somewhat defensible. His refusal to stop prosecution of military members under investigation for violation of DADT may have legal backing. His absence of comments on the upholding of Proposition 8 in California were met with a promise that there was a bigger announcement in the works. We got a lukewarm recognition of gay pride month only to be followed by this case involving the Defense of Marriage Act.

But what are we to make of the most recent snub? On Thursday, the Department of Justice filed a brief on a case concerning the Defense of Marriage Act. Not only has the Obama administration upheld the constitutionality of DOMA, but they have equated same-sex marriage to incest and pedophilia. The brief argues that states have had the right to ignore unions from other state of under-aged individuals or those related by blood. Sure they have. States were also allowed to ignore multi-racial unions, but that doesn’t seem to be a factor according Obama. That is an argument of “my minority deserves more rights that your minority.”

Gay rights groups have already issued statements deploring the decision and equating the Obama argument to those of the Bush administration- both being legally unsound.

The point in all of this is that it isn’t going to matter in 10 years. No one born after 1980 sees the reason why one group of people doesn’t deserve the exact same recognition and rights as any other group of people. This discrimination and bigotry isn’t going to last. Why not step up and be a leader Obama? Not even a leader, why not just follow through on your promises to those people who believed you, to those people who put you in the office you are currently enjoying. How about this- don’t worry about following through, but could you refrain from taking us backwards? We’ll focus on someone who can take us forward next time if you aren’t willing to step up and be the fierce advocate you say you are.