President Obama's "full plate" is no excuse to postpone equality.
Monday, January 11, 2010 6:07PM

"We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal."

They are the very words on which this country was founded; and yet for more than two centuries, Thomas Jefferson's promise has gone unfulfilled.

President Lyndon B. Johnson quoted those words in a speech on July 2nd, 1964, after signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act into law.  It was one of the most important steps in achieving equality in America.

At the time, Johnson didn't have an easy job.  Racial tensions were high.  19% of Americans were at or below the poverty level.  5,000 more US troops were being sent to Vietnam to risk their lives.  The risk of nuclear war loomed closer as the USSR pushed forward in the race for arms.  We faced not only the threat of weapons, but anti-American extremist politics.  We had to win not only battles, but minds.

46 years later, history has repeated itself.

Americans are again struggling to put food on the table.  The war has moved from Russia and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan.  And the battle for civil rights has changed from an issue of race to an issue of sexual orientation.

Like Johnson, President Obama doesn't have an easy job.  His Press Secretary has reminded us of this countless times: "He has a lot on his plate."  But when Americans are facing discrimination at work, at home, in the military and at the altar, there is nothing -- including economics or war -- that is more important than fulfilling the promise made to us 234 years ago: That all men are created equal.

There is no one more appropriate to take a role of leadership in the fight for equality than President Obama.  He is one of the greatest examples of the true "American Dream," defying the bonds of racism and discrimination to ascend to the most powerful office in the world.

Now, like Johnson, it's his turn to speak out and become an advocate for equal rights.  Many of us supported Mr. Obama during his campaign, and like Thomas Jefferson, he made a hopeful promise to end discrimination against LGBT Americans.  Yet after one year in office, we have seen no movement on issues like Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act.

In a speech to members of the Human Rights Campaign, President Obama urged us to pressure him on these issues, and we must continue to do so.

We can no longer accept the excuse of a "full plate."  Abraham Lincoln was patching a torn country together when he advanced Civil Rights in 1864.  A full plate didn't stop Johnson in 1964, and it should no longer be a viable excuse for President Obama in 2010.


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