Should Obama Be Heckled Over Gay Rights?

Hell hath no fury like a bunch of gay rights activists who want to see action now on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Such was the case last night at a fundraiser in California for Senator Barbara Boxer, where President Obama was openly heckled from the floor for what activists see as slow progress on moving forward with a repeal of the military's ban on gay, lesbian and bisexual troops.

And therein rests the $64,000 question: when gay rights activists heckle the President while he's speaking, are they doing the right thing for equality, or are they risking being painted with a Rep. Joe "You Lie!" Wilson brush?

Yesterday's incident at the Boxer fundraiser came courtesy of GetEqual. If you haven't heard of them yet, you will soon. They are quickly becoming powerhouses when it comes to direct action, from taking over Rep. Nancy Pelosi's Congressional office to demand passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), to a civil disobedience action at the White House demanding an end to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Last night, a few of their members scored tickets to the Boxer fundraiser, giving them direct vocal access to Mr. President.

Here's how the scene went down.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell!”

THE PRESIDENT: We are going to do that. Hey, hold on a second, hold on a second. We are going to do that.

AUDIENCE: Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

Budding screenplay writers have got to enjoy this scenario. It gets better.

THE PRESIDENT: Here we go. All right — guys, guys, all right. I agree, I agree, I agree. (Applause.) Now —

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT: No, no, no, no, listen. What the young man was talking about was we need to — we need to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don't Tell,” which I agree with and which we have begun to do. (Applause.) But let me say this: When you’ve got an ally like Barbara Boxer and you’ve got an ally like me who are standing for the same thing, then you don't know exactly why you’ve got to holler, because we already hear you, all right? (Applause.) I mean, it would have made more sense to holler that at the people who oppose it. (Applause.)

And scene.

So what's the best strategy here? There are two pretty sound arguments on both sides.

The first comes courtesy of the Prez. He says it doesn't make any sense to target him, or politicians like Sen. Barbara Boxer, because they already want to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." It can be a pretty convincing argument, with the President telling activists that they're preaching to the choir. Moreover, according to the President, if Senators like Boxer aren't re-elected, there will be little chance to pass future LGBT legislation, given that her replacement is likely not going to be anywhere near as progressive on issues important to the LGBT population.

Convinced? If not, turn to GetEqual's argument. They say that the Obama administration has dragged its feet on issues like repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." And their argument got some support last week, when Rep. Barney Frank suggested that the White House was purposely trying to delay a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," so that legislators wouldn't have to be forced to deal with a tricky issue during the 2010 mid-term elections. For GetEqual folks (and for an increasing number of people in the LGBT movement), the White House should immediately get behind repeal legislation in Congress, and/or support putting a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in this year's Defense Authorization bill (which is how hate crimes legislation passed last year).

Like mapping out where to place your Stratego pieces (don't ever surround your flag with five bombs!), the question all comes down to strategy. And there's probably a bit of truth on both sides of this question.

But frankly, though the President probably doesn't enjoy being heckled like a baseball pitcher, the rational side of him has got to understand the impatience and frustration of those who thought they'd see ENDA passed during his first year, and more full-throttled support from the White House on repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Beyond that, the Obama administration hasn't helped itself any, by standing aside while the Department of Justice issued two abysmal legal briefs on court challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and freaked out last week when a random blogger suggested a potential U.S. Supreme Court nominee might be a lesbian.

Clarence Darrow perhaps put it best: "As long as the world shall last there will be wrongs, and if no man objected and no man rebelled, those wrongs would last forever."

Or maybe the Beastie Boys said it better when they said you have to fight for your right ...

Photo credit: The White House