A DNC fundraiser under attack by gay
activists has instead proved to be a financial windfall for the
party.
Thursday's LGBT Leadership Council
Dinner banked its largest pot yet: $1 million.
“I don't blame you for your
impatience,” Vice President Joe Biden told the crowd. “I hope
you don't doubt the president's commitment [on gay rights].”
But the doubt and impatience of the gay
and lesbian community was visible outside on the picket line avoided
by Biden, who entered the Mandarin Oriental Hotel through a side door to address the crowd.
The vice president, however, did speak
directly to the controversy: “I am not unaware of the controversy
swirling around this dinner and swirling around the speed or lack
thereof that we are moving on issues that are of great importance to
you.”
Outside about 50 protesters did their
best to dissuade donors from entering the hotel. They heckled
participants and held signs that read “Gay Uncle Toms,” Politico
reported.
At least a dozen donors kept their
distance after their simmering dissatisfaction at President Obama's
hesitation to take on the gay rights issues he championed as a
candidate boiled over on the news that the administration was
defending the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, the 1996 law that
defines marriage as a heterosexual union for federal agencies and
allows states to ignore legal gay marriages performed elsewhere.
Candidate Obama pledged to repeal the law, calling it “abhorrent.”
The brief drew fire from activists who
say it draws parallels between gay marriage and incestuous and
polygamous relationships, and it relied heavily on outdated and
inaccurate gay stereotypes.
“The brief was very troubling to a
lot of people and rightfully so,” Richard Socarides, a former
special assistant to President Clinton who boycotted the fundraiser,
told ABC News. “Supporters of the Democratic Party and others who
feel that gay and lesbian equality is an important issue to address
are rightly concerned about this brief. Serious issues still need to
be clarified.”
So far, however, the administration has
remained mum on the brief, saying only that the president has a duty
to defend the law.
“[T]he Justice Department is charged
with upholding the law of the land, even though the president
believes the law should be repealed,” White House Spokesman Robert
Gibbs said.
Biden's speech kept to the talking
points being distributed by the White House on gay and lesbian
rights: The president has appointed 60 openly gay people, has signed
an executive order that extends some benefits to gay couples (but not
health and pension benefits), and lifted the HIV travel ban. He drew
praise as he pledged the repeal of DOMA and the military's ban on
open gay service, also known as “don't ask, don't tell.”
“I promise you with your help we'll
get there in this administration,” he said. A promise unlikely to
quell gay activists already disheartened by the president's promises.