Obama era begins

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‘All are equal, all are free,’ new president tells massive inaugural crowd

By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
JAN. 23, 2009

Just seconds after President Barack Obama was sworn in Tuesday, the official White House web site was updated to include his commitments on a range of gay rights initiatives. (Photo by AP)

Gay people from across the country joined more than a million people Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol and on the National Mall to witness Barack Obama take the oath of office as the 44th president and become, in the minds of many activists, the nation’s most gay-supportive president.

In his inaugural address, Obama called on the country to strive for equal rights and justice for all, but did not specifically mention his longstanding support for gay civil rights as he did in many campaign speeches.

The omission of gays and other constituency groups from the inaugural address did not appear to bother gay rights supporters who braved the frigid weather to attend the inauguration.

For many activists, especially black gays, Obama’s precedent-setting role as the nation’s first African-American president — along with his strong support for the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans — elicited deep, personal feelings about their outlook on the country.

“I think that at this moment, I am more proud to be an American than I have ever been,” said Michael Crawford, a black gay activist and Obama campaign volunteer.

“And when I say that, I don’t mean to say that I have ever not been proud to be an American,” Crawford said. “But watching Barack Obama be sworn into the presidency as the first African American ever, and not only watching him but seeing the hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people of all races, all sexual orientations, all ages, all economic classes together celebrating that fact was absolutely amazing.”

Crawford and other activists noted that while Obama did not mention gays in his inaugural address, his new administration acted quickly to include gays in its first White House actions.

Seconds after Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to Obama, a detailed narrative describing Obama’s support for gay rights legislation popped up on the White House web site, www.whitehouse.gov.

On the site’s “Civil Rights” page, which includes the official White House logo, Obama’s support for a gay and trans-inclusive hate crimes prevention bill, an employment non-discrimination bill covering gays and transgender people, and overturning “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” among other gay-related issues, are discussed under a section titled “Support for the LGBT Community.”

The section also mentions Obama’s call for the repeal of the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act and his support for new legislation that would provide full marriage-related rights and benefits for same-sex couples joined in civil unions or domestic partnerships.

While praised by gay groups, the web site’s changes were quickly denounced by the anti-gay Liberty Alliance, which called the changes a signal that Obama has adopted the “homosexual agenda.”

‘ALL EQUAL, ALL FREE’

In his inaugural address, Obama discussed themes of national unity at home and improved relations with the global community.

“The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit, to choose our better history, to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness,” he said.

In a reference to his foreign policy initiatives, Obama noted that “America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.”

The night he won the presidency, Obama told a crowd in Chicago that his victory was an answer to the question of whether America remained a place “where all things are possible.”

“It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled, Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states,” he said on that November night. “We are, and always will be, the United States of America.”

During a pre-inaugural concert on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial, Obama made a similar call for unity by listing the same groups, including “gay and straight,” in a speech on the memorial’s steps.

The Lincoln Memorial event drew criticism from some gay activists when the opening prayer delivered by gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson was omitted from the televised coverage of the concert. (See related story, Page 10.)

Many activists considered Obama’s decision to invite the openly gay Robinson to participate in the Lincoln Memorial event as a way of offsetting Obama’s earlier decision to invite Rev. Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Church in California and ...

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