Democratic marriage

President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.

The Hawaii State Supreme Court had ruled that the state must show a compelling interest in prohibiting same-sex marriage a few years earlier. Opponents of gay marriage feared a scenario in which Hawaii or another state might legalize same-sex marriage, and other states would be forced to recognize it under the Full Faith and Credit clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The Defense of Marriage Act made it explicitly clear that no other state had to recognize same-sex marriage even if such marriages were recognized in other states and also established that the federal government viewed legal marriage solely as a union between one man and one woman.

The act was authored by then-Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., but most congressional Democrats voted for it. Clinton, who hinted he supports gay marriage now, expressed few reservations about signing the bill when it got to his desk.

Democrats often speak sympathetically about gay rights, but those who care about those rights and back Democratic candidates, such as President Obama, get little for their support.

During Obama’s inauguration there was a great deal of fuss regarding the decision to have the invocation given by Rick Warren, a conservative pastor who supported the move to re-ban gay marriage in California.

The outrage seemed naive, not just because the opening invocation at presidential inaugurations is never more than a simple prayer, but because Rick Warren’s position on gay marriage wasn’t much different from the one Obama espoused on the campaign trail.

There is evidence that Obama once openly supported gay marriage. He told a gay Chicago newspaper that he favored legalizing same-sex marriage when he was running for a seat in the Illinois State Senate.

However, by the time he was running for president, he backtracked.
During his campaign, Obama did say he would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and end the archaic “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military.  

Gay rights activists have gotten nothing but scraps so far. After a Justice Department brief that defended the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, Obama signed an executive order to give same-sex partners of federal workers access to health and other benefits. But he hasn’t made any significant moves against the Defense of Marriage Act and, even more disappointingly, he has shown reservation about fighting the ban on openly gay men or women serving in the military.

Reversing “don’t ask, don’t tell” would require action by Congress, so the disappointment falls not just on Obama, but all congressional Democrats.
Obama’s inaction on “don’t ask, don’t tell” might be understandable in light of the two wars in which America is embroiled. But it is hard to accept that logic when Gallup has found most Americans have supported allowing openly gay people to serve in the military since 1994.

It seems Democrats, far from taking the lead on gay issues, are only a little bit closer to public opinion than Republicans are.