My Visit to The White House with President Obama on June 29, 2009
From the desk of Chip Arndt, President Freedom Democrats of Miami-Dade:
Summary of my Visit to The White House with President Obama on June 29, 2009
The event at the White House on Monday was historic, in that it included over 200 LGBT people, many of whom brought their partners, family, and kids and it honored the public beginning of the "gay" civil rights movement - the Stonewall Riots 40 years ago.
Were all of the leaders of the LGBT community there? No. Should they have been there? Probably. If they came would I have been invited? I don't know. Did I show up to be starry-eyed? No. Did I enjoy the food and being treated as a "special guest" in one of the most stunning buildings in the world, which is occupied by one of the most powerful leaders in the free world? Yes. Did I attend the event to let the President, and his staff, know that "today" is the right time to pass important pieces of legislation to protect and stand up for ALL citizens of the USA? Yes.
Was I respectful of being in the presence of the President and being allowed to roam two floors of the White House freely with two of my transgender friends and "the Father of the "gay" movement", Frank Kameny, for over two hours? Yes. [Note: Has that ever happened in the history of the USA? Not that I know of and does this last point mean that I am done with pushing our President and members of Congress for LGBT rights TODAY? Of course not.]
Do I think that our presence at the White House for the entire world to see was important? Yes. Do I think that those who attended the White House event are more or less important than other LGBT leaders, activists, and any other LGBT citizen in the USA? No. Do I believe that we have work to do? Yes. Am I happy that we don't know "when" the President will really act on behalf of LGBT issues and that he has a different time-line for equality than I do? Of course not.
Has he moved on helping remove barriers for people who are HIV+ to enter the USA freely? Yes. Does this matter? Yes. Did he speak to and or provide satisfactory resolutions to every issue important to the LGBT community? No. Did he publicly and on record come out as no other President has ever before to advance a comprehensive LGBT platform of issues? Yes. Does this matter? Yes. Is it fast enough? No. Should we be angry and push harder? Yes.
And finally, do I believe that several pieces of LGBT legislation will be passed as soon as "I" would like to see them passed? No...and I will not give up trying. I also will not give up on speaking up and showing up at every event I can to send this one simple message to anyone present -- Civil and Human Rights are not negotiable and the LGBT community deserves to be treated as equal citizens across the board, NOW; there is no right time for being treated as a dignified citizen of the USA but for today.
Many people see the White House event as merely a symbolic gesture, calling many of us who attended the event as "clueless, wannabes, and patsies", and they deride the President for not acting on promises made in the campaign on advancing LGBT rights more quickly. Yes, the event was more or less symbolic, no, I am not "clueless", and yes, there were no concrete dates to act on promises made to the LGBT community, which is highly disappointing considering that over 265+ service members in the military have been discharged since Mr. Obama took office. I am angry and I stated such, as did many others.
As to existing legislation of ENDA and The Matthew Shepard Act, I believe much of the "blame" should be placed on many Democrats in Congress who are too afraid to do what is right. Could the President put more pressure on these "hold out" Democrats to do what they know is right? Of course. Has the President done enough to pressure them to vote now to pass these two important pieces of legislation? No. Will he sign bill(s) that comes to his desk? Yes. Have you pressured your Congress people to vote on these two pieces of legislation? That is for you to decide.
So where are we?
Every movement goes through its transitions. As I sat next to Frank Kameny at the White House he said to me, and I summarize: "....Chip...it is amazing....over 45 years ago I was in the streets of Philadelphia with Barbara Gittings and others saying that "Gay is Good" and scared for my life; never could I imagine that a sitting President of the United States would have me, and 200 other LGBT folks, in The White House saying the same thing...we still have much work to do....but we have transitioned incredibly from just a few years ago."
The President, our friends, our allies, and our elected officials need to understand that the LGBT community has transitioned greatly and that "action" is the path today - we are done with words and are done with people "understanding our issues".
We, as the LGBT community, have already transitioned to accepting ourselves for who we are and educating people about who we are...we, as the LGBT community, have transitioned from asking people to only "allow us to exist side-by-side with you" to demanding our full rights as free, tax-paying citizens....we, as the LGBT community, have transitioned from asking for acceptance and understanding to asking that all people stand by us for full, equal rights, across the board, now. There is no logical reason to wait but for catering to the ingrained bigotry of many people that will never like me, will never like a "gay" person, will never like a "transgender" person, and will never fully comprehend that the Constitution and The Bill of Rights was meant to be applied to all of America's children and citizens.
President Obama on Monday was fully aware that those of us in attendance were not there to imbibe more "kool-aid", but rather to demand actionable change. We were not there to continue to fund politicians who "say the right things" and do nothing. To think otherwise is disingenuous to the efforts of so many people at the White House that day who have worked hard for LGBT rights for many years.
It is now time for the "straight" community to make their own transition from "understanding our pain" to acting to eradicate the pain. And it is up to the LGBT community to help them make that transition, through thoughtful and sometimes "tough-love" communication. President Obama believes that he has the correct formulae to transition America on a certain time-frame and, while I disagree with that time-frame, I remain steadfast to support him to get to the goal.
Mr. President, thank you for the historic meeting of so many people in the LGBT community on Monday. I am totally reenergized to get all of the USA to make the aforementioned transitions needed for full equality for the LGBT community. May I remind you that the clock is winding down and it is time to lead on civil rights for all of your citizens -- I have made the transition...when will you?
The event at the White House on Monday was historic, in that it included over 200 LGBT people, many of whom brought their partners, family, and kids and it honored the public beginning of the "gay" civil rights movement - the Stonewall Riots 40 years ago.
Were all of the leaders of the LGBT community there? No. Should they have been there? Probably. If they came would I have been invited? I don't know. Did I show up to be starry-eyed? No. Did I enjoy the food and being treated as a "special guest" in one of the most stunning buildings in the world, which is occupied by one of the most powerful leaders in the free world? Yes. Did I attend the event to let the President, and his staff, know that "today" is the right time to pass important pieces of legislation to protect and stand up for ALL citizens of the USA? Yes.
Was I respectful of being in the presence of the President and being allowed to roam two floors of the White House freely with two of my transgender friends and "the Father of the "gay" movement", Frank Kameny, for over two hours? Yes. [Note: Has that ever happened in the history of the USA? Not that I know of and does this last point mean that I am done with pushing our President and members of Congress for LGBT rights TODAY? Of course not.]
Do I think that our presence at the White House for the entire world to see was important? Yes. Do I think that those who attended the White House event are more or less important than other LGBT leaders, activists, and any other LGBT citizen in the USA? No. Do I believe that we have work to do? Yes. Am I happy that we don't know "when" the President will really act on behalf of LGBT issues and that he has a different time-line for equality than I do? Of course not.
Has he moved on helping remove barriers for people who are HIV+ to enter the USA freely? Yes. Does this matter? Yes. Did he speak to and or provide satisfactory resolutions to every issue important to the LGBT community? No. Did he publicly and on record come out as no other President has ever before to advance a comprehensive LGBT platform of issues? Yes. Does this matter? Yes. Is it fast enough? No. Should we be angry and push harder? Yes.
And finally, do I believe that several pieces of LGBT legislation will be passed as soon as "I" would like to see them passed? No...and I will not give up trying. I also will not give up on speaking up and showing up at every event I can to send this one simple message to anyone present -- Civil and Human Rights are not negotiable and the LGBT community deserves to be treated as equal citizens across the board, NOW; there is no right time for being treated as a dignified citizen of the USA but for today.
Many people see the White House event as merely a symbolic gesture, calling many of us who attended the event as "clueless, wannabes, and patsies", and they deride the President for not acting on promises made in the campaign on advancing LGBT rights more quickly. Yes, the event was more or less symbolic, no, I am not "clueless", and yes, there were no concrete dates to act on promises made to the LGBT community, which is highly disappointing considering that over 265+ service members in the military have been discharged since Mr. Obama took office. I am angry and I stated such, as did many others.
As to existing legislation of ENDA and The Matthew Shepard Act, I believe much of the "blame" should be placed on many Democrats in Congress who are too afraid to do what is right. Could the President put more pressure on these "hold out" Democrats to do what they know is right? Of course. Has the President done enough to pressure them to vote now to pass these two important pieces of legislation? No. Will he sign bill(s) that comes to his desk? Yes. Have you pressured your Congress people to vote on these two pieces of legislation? That is for you to decide.
So where are we?
Every movement goes through its transitions. As I sat next to Frank Kameny at the White House he said to me, and I summarize: "....Chip...it is amazing....over 45 years ago I was in the streets of Philadelphia with Barbara Gittings and others saying that "Gay is Good" and scared for my life; never could I imagine that a sitting President of the United States would have me, and 200 other LGBT folks, in The White House saying the same thing...we still have much work to do....but we have transitioned incredibly from just a few years ago."
The President, our friends, our allies, and our elected officials need to understand that the LGBT community has transitioned greatly and that "action" is the path today - we are done with words and are done with people "understanding our issues".
We, as the LGBT community, have already transitioned to accepting ourselves for who we are and educating people about who we are...we, as the LGBT community, have transitioned from asking people to only "allow us to exist side-by-side with you" to demanding our full rights as free, tax-paying citizens....we, as the LGBT community, have transitioned from asking for acceptance and understanding to asking that all people stand by us for full, equal rights, across the board, now. There is no logical reason to wait but for catering to the ingrained bigotry of many people that will never like me, will never like a "gay" person, will never like a "transgender" person, and will never fully comprehend that the Constitution and The Bill of Rights was meant to be applied to all of America's children and citizens.
President Obama on Monday was fully aware that those of us in attendance were not there to imbibe more "kool-aid", but rather to demand actionable change. We were not there to continue to fund politicians who "say the right things" and do nothing. To think otherwise is disingenuous to the efforts of so many people at the White House that day who have worked hard for LGBT rights for many years.
It is now time for the "straight" community to make their own transition from "understanding our pain" to acting to eradicate the pain. And it is up to the LGBT community to help them make that transition, through thoughtful and sometimes "tough-love" communication. President Obama believes that he has the correct formulae to transition America on a certain time-frame and, while I disagree with that time-frame, I remain steadfast to support him to get to the goal.
Mr. President, thank you for the historic meeting of so many people in the LGBT community on Monday. I am totally reenergized to get all of the USA to make the aforementioned transitions needed for full equality for the LGBT community. May I remind you that the clock is winding down and it is time to lead on civil rights for all of your citizens -- I have made the transition...when will you?
