Protesters Challenge Obama's Handling Of Don't Ask Don't Tell
Eight members of Get Equal, a gay and lesbian equality group, stood quietly behind signs as students and others streamed onto the campus of the University of Southern California.
“I am really tired of becoming a political punching bag,” Ellen Sturtz said, standing behind a sign that read “Stop The Discharges Now.”
Sturtz, who is a lesbian, said the Obama administration should not have appealed a lower court’s ruling that declared Don’t Ask Don’t Tell unconstitutional. On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit temporarily reinstated the policy while it considers the administration’s appeal.
“I really want to make sure that President Obama realizes that some of the promises he made early on in his campaign and even in the first year, he hasn’t kept them,” she said.
Geoffrey Farrow, a former Catholic priest who said he was kicked out of the church after he spoke out against Proposition 8 from the pulpit, chided the president, and compared the current debate over Don’t Ask Don’t Tell to the racial integration of the military.
“Remember your promises, President Obama,” he said.
Reporting contributed by Mary Slosson.
Reach reporter Andrew Khouri here.