Tomorrow, Saturday, President Obama is planning to speak at the Human Rights Campaign BFD annual dinner/fundraiser. It’s a good sign. Many in the LGBT community are unhappy with his self-proclaimed fierce advocacy on their behalf. One wonders what he might say to the assembled crowd. Well the rumors are forming some substance. Granted, I’m getting this third-hand, but this pajarito is usually pretty reliable, so I decided to share the news rumor.
In no order, he will reportedly speak out against the repeal of marriage equality currently on next month’s ballot in Maine. Would that he had done that with Prop 8 last fall. Oh, well….
The other item that caught my eye is that he will “announce a push in 2010 to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
The last item is that his newly appointed openly gay ambassador to New Zealand will be attending the event. That one doesn’t impress me much.
It’s worth noting that this is only the second time a sitting president has attended this kind of event. The other was the Big Dog, Bill Clinton. It’s good that he’s going. For me, what matters more is not so much the photo op but delivering on his promises. I hope he does. And I hope he also mentions employment non-discrimination, and the Matthew Shepard Act just passed by the House. We’ll see…