Obama touts gay rights record at gala

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama joined the nation’s largest gay rights group in celebrating the new ability of gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military, saying that “we believe in an equal America that values the service of every patriot.”

Obama’s remarks came at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual gala dinner on Saturday night, held less than two weeks after the demise of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. That policy was repealed by Congress last December and came to an official end on Sept. 20.

Saying that some people might want to overturn such strides for equality, Obama declared: “We believe in a big America. A tolerant America. An equal America that values the service of every patriot. E pluribus unum – out of many, one. And that includes everybody.”

Addressing a sold-out dinner that organizers said drew 3,100 people, Obama began by joking that last week he had “some productive, bilateral talks with your leader, Lady Gaga.”

He moved on to describe what he said his administration, with the help of groups such as the Human Rights Campaign, had achieved for the gay community – and what was left to do. In addition to changes in the military, Obama hailed the expansion of the federal hate crimes law and a provision that hospitals receiving Medicare or Medicaid give visitation rights to gay partners.

Obama condemned bullying against young gay people and lashed out against the federal Defense of Marriage Act, saying that just like “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, it should be relegated to “history books.”

And he took a shot at Republican presidential candidates who stood silent at a recent debate when a soldier who posed a question about “don’t ask, don’t tell” was met with boos from the audience.

“You want to be commander in chief, you can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States,” Obama said.