President Obama vowed Tuesday night to push ahead with his gay rights agenda, assuring an audience of gay men and lesbians at the White House that he remains committed to repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, which allows states to refuse to recognize same same-sex marriages performed in other states.
“Committed gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country,’’ Mr. Obama declared, during a White House reception to celebrate June as gay and lesbian pride month.
Although he has promised to press Congress to repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage law, Mr. Obama opposes same-sex marriage on religious grounds — a position that is a sore point with many gay rights advocates who see the president on the wrong side of an important civil rights issue. Instead, Mr. Obama favors civil unions, which he argues would afford gay men and women the same rights as married couples.
At the reception Tuesday, the president pointed to progress on a variety of issues important to gay men and lesbians, including expansion of hospital visitation rights for same-sex partners and steps toward eliminating Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the military’s policy barring gay men and women from serving openly. Advocates for gay rights groups say they are pleased, but are looking for more.
The Family Equality Council, which works on behalf of gay men and women and their families, issued a statement praising Mr. Obama for “small but significant steps’’ he has taken toward gay equality. But the group said “the big-ticket items that would dramatically benefit these families,’’ including repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and laws barring discrimination in employment and easing the path toward gay adoption, “have yet to be addressed.’’