News

Log Cabin Republicans Responds to State of the Union Address

Obama's First Year in Office Marked by Double-Speak, Failed Promises to Gay Community

January 28, 2010

(Washington, DC) – In response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, Log Cabin Republicans, the nation's oldest and largest conservative gay organization, issued the following statement:

"President Obama's address to the nation tonight provides a stark contrast of the reality that all Americans – not just gays and lesbians – are living," comments Log Cabin Republicans National Board Chairman Terry W. Hamilton. "The increasingly dominant role of government in the daily life of gays and lesbians under President Obama's leadership has done nothing but put our community in jeopardy – from his support of the Estate Tax, instructing his Administration to defend the failed 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy in court, to stifling small business development across the nation, all Americans should take heed to his overarching promises that are long on rhetoric and short on action. "

Log Cabin Republicans national spokesperson Charles T. Moran, comments: "President Obama is more concerned about protecting the rights of terrorists than he is about the rights of gay and lesbian Americans who are putting their lives on the line every day fighting to preserve peace and democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan, and who operate small businesses that are the backbone of the American economy."

President Obama in his address Wednesday night specifically advocated for a repeal of the discriminatory 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy, which he has reiterated on several occasions both as a candidate and as the President. In an alarming contradiction to his stated public policy position, President Obama has instructed his Justice Department to fight the only lawsuit in modern times challenging 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' of which Log Cabin Republicans is the sole plaintiff.

"Again, President Obama calls on Congress to do one thing, yet he instructs his Administration and his Justice Department to take the opposite action. Which way is it, President Obama?" comments Moran.

The case in question, Log Cabin Republicans v. United States of America, is the first direct challenge to the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law filed in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas. It is also the only contemporary legal challenge to this law to succeed at the district court level. One of the injured parties named in the case, Alexander Nicholson, is a former US Army Human Intelligence Collector who speaks multiple languages, including Arabic, and who was fired because of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law just six months after 9/11. Another injured party in the case, listed simply as 'John Doe,' currently serves in the Armed Forces and would face a discharge if his identity were revealed.