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Obama Expands His Pro-Homosexual Agenda by Regulation, ‘Interpretation’
One conservative group criticized the White House for handing out "political favors" to the homosexual lobby – and vastly expanding presidential power in the process.
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Without action by Congress, President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced that his administration will issue regulations applying the Family and Medical Leave Act to homosexual couples and requiring most hospitals to allow homosexuals to visit their partners.
One conservative group criticized the White House for handing out “political favors” to the homosexual lobby – and vastly expanding presidential power in the process.
“Piece by anti-democratic piece, the White House is executing its plan for a vast expansion of presidential power,” the Family Research Council said. “What this administration has accomplished is nothing less than suspending the power of Congress.”
Speaking at an LGBT [Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender] Pride Month reception in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday evening, Obama told homosexual activists that his Labor Department has made it clear that under the Family and Medical Leave Act, “same-sex couples -- as well as others raising children -- are to be treated like the caretakers that they are.”
Hours before the White House reception started, President Obama’s Labor Department announced a new “interpretation” of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the 1993 law that allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period to care for loved ones or themselves.
“All families, including LGBT families, are protected by the FMLA,” the Labor Department said. It described the move as “a victory for many non-traditional families, including families in the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community, who often in the past have been denied leave to care for their loved ones.”
At Tuesday’s reception, President Obama also said he’s instructed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to make sure that hospitals participating in Medicare or Medicaid allow homosexual partners the same privileges and visitation rights as straight partners.
“And before we came out here today, I wanted to make sure that I had followed up -- Secretary Sebelius will officially be proposing this regulation,” Obama said. “And I can also announce that the secretary has sent a letter today asking these hospitals to adopt these changes now -- even before the rule takes effect.”
(As CNSNews.com previously reported, the hospital visitation regulation has been described as a solution in search of a problem, since most hospitals allow patients to have whatever visitors they wish.)
Obama on Tuesday also touted passage of the federal hate crimes law; he pledged to end the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military; and he pledged to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
Obama already has issued an executive order to extend more benefits to gay and lesbian federal employees. “I’m going to continue to fight to change the law: to guarantee gay federal employees the exact same benefits as straight employees -- including access to health insurance and retirement plans,” he said Tuesday.
At the start of his evening remarks, the president acknowledged a friendly crowd.
“I was going to say welcome to the White House -- but you guys seem like you feel right at home,” Obama said. “And it is also great to have so many activists and organizers from around the country -- folks who fight every day for the rights of parents and children and partners and citizens to be treated equally under the law. And so we are very proud of all of you.”
Obama reminded the crowd that he has “called for Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act,” a federal law that says no state can be required to recognize a same-sex marriage performed in another state. So if DOMA is repealed, for example, the states of Kansas or Mississippi – which have not legalized homosexual unions -- would have to recognize a homosexual marriage performed in Massachusetts.
“I believe that committed gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country,” Obama said.
Some homosexual activists expected Obama to move more quickly on their issues, and they have criticized his slow pace. But the president argued that change comes slowly: “We can already point to extraordinary progress that we’ve made over the past year on behalf of Americans who are gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgender,” Obama said. “Just stay with me here for a second.
“Last year, I met with Judy Shepard, Matthew Shepard’s mom, and I promised her that after a decades-long struggle, we would pass inclusive hate crimes legislation,” Obama said. “I promised that in the name of her son, we would ensure that the full might of the law is brought down on those who would attack somebody just because they are gay. And less than six months later, with Judy by my side, we marked the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act. It’s now the law of the land.”
The repeal of the don’t-ask-don’t-tell military policy -- which prohibits homosexuals from openly serving in the military -- is within reach, Obama said.
“Thanks to [Rep.] Patrick Murphy and others, for the first time in history, the House has passed a repeal that would allow gay men and women to openly serve in our armed forces. And this repeal is authored so that the Pentagon can complete its review of the policy -- which is critical, by the way, not only to passage, but it’s also critical to making sure that the change is accepted and implemented effectively.
"In the Senate, the Armed Services Committee has approved repeal for the first time, and the full body is poised to vote soon,” Obama continued. “So here’s the bottom line: We have never been closer to ending this discriminatory policy. And I’m going to keep on fighting until that bill is on my desk and I can sign it.”
Where's Congress?
The conservative Family Research Council says the Obama administration's new regulations will “sweep away the law protecting marriage and turn the Family and Medical Leave Act into another weapon that the White House will use to bludgeon DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) into extinction.”
Moreover, the Labor Department’s new interpretation of the Family and Medical Leave Act “will be implemented without so much as a courtesy call to America's real lawmaking body, Congress,” FRC warned.
“Under Article I of the Constitution, America's lawmaking ability is wholly vested in the House and Senate--not government agencies or 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. By granting these special privileges to homosexuals -- privileges that are in direct conflict with U.S. law -- the President is breaching the Constitution and its limits on Executive authority.”
The Family Research Council says President Obama is getting away with it because he knows that Americans will keep quiet on issues such as homosexuality.
“But no matter how indifferent voters may be to the President's gay agenda, they must understand that the White House is gaining power to use in other areas," FRC warned.
"The administration is becoming a government bully that steps on the rights of states, the will of the people, and the morals of our nation. And slowly but surely, the President is disarming America from fighting back. He will keep testing the boundaries of his authority until we relinquish all of ours.”
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden participate in a Gay Pride Month event at the White House on Tuesday, June 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
One conservative group criticized the White House for handing out “political favors” to the homosexual lobby – and vastly expanding presidential power in the process.
“Piece by anti-democratic piece, the White House is executing its plan for a vast expansion of presidential power,” the Family Research Council said. “What this administration has accomplished is nothing less than suspending the power of Congress.”
Speaking at an LGBT [Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender] Pride Month reception in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday evening, Obama told homosexual activists that his Labor Department has made it clear that under the Family and Medical Leave Act, “same-sex couples -- as well as others raising children -- are to be treated like the caretakers that they are.”
Hours before the White House reception started, President Obama’s Labor Department announced a new “interpretation” of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the 1993 law that allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period to care for loved ones or themselves.
“All families, including LGBT families, are protected by the FMLA,” the Labor Department said. It described the move as “a victory for many non-traditional families, including families in the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community, who often in the past have been denied leave to care for their loved ones.”
A lesbian couple awaits the arrival of President Barack Obama at a LGBT Pride Month event at the White House on Tuesday, June 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
“And before we came out here today, I wanted to make sure that I had followed up -- Secretary Sebelius will officially be proposing this regulation,” Obama said. “And I can also announce that the secretary has sent a letter today asking these hospitals to adopt these changes now -- even before the rule takes effect.”
(As CNSNews.com previously reported, the hospital visitation regulation has been described as a solution in search of a problem, since most hospitals allow patients to have whatever visitors they wish.)
Obama on Tuesday also touted passage of the federal hate crimes law; he pledged to end the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military; and he pledged to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
Obama already has issued an executive order to extend more benefits to gay and lesbian federal employees. “I’m going to continue to fight to change the law: to guarantee gay federal employees the exact same benefits as straight employees -- including access to health insurance and retirement plans,” he said Tuesday.
Constance McMillen, the Mississippi teen who wanted to attend prom with her girlfriend only to see the prom cancelled in response, attended the LGBT Pride Month event at the White House on Tuesday, June 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
“I was going to say welcome to the White House -- but you guys seem like you feel right at home,” Obama said. “And it is also great to have so many activists and organizers from around the country -- folks who fight every day for the rights of parents and children and partners and citizens to be treated equally under the law. And so we are very proud of all of you.”
Obama reminded the crowd that he has “called for Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act,” a federal law that says no state can be required to recognize a same-sex marriage performed in another state. So if DOMA is repealed, for example, the states of Kansas or Mississippi – which have not legalized homosexual unions -- would have to recognize a homosexual marriage performed in Massachusetts.
“I believe that committed gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country,” Obama said.
Some homosexual activists expected Obama to move more quickly on their issues, and they have criticized his slow pace. But the president argued that change comes slowly: “We can already point to extraordinary progress that we’ve made over the past year on behalf of Americans who are gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgender,” Obama said. “Just stay with me here for a second.
“Last year, I met with Judy Shepard, Matthew Shepard’s mom, and I promised her that after a decades-long struggle, we would pass inclusive hate crimes legislation,” Obama said. “I promised that in the name of her son, we would ensure that the full might of the law is brought down on those who would attack somebody just because they are gay. And less than six months later, with Judy by my side, we marked the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act. It’s now the law of the land.”
The repeal of the don’t-ask-don’t-tell military policy -- which prohibits homosexuals from openly serving in the military -- is within reach, Obama said.
“Thanks to [Rep.] Patrick Murphy and others, for the first time in history, the House has passed a repeal that would allow gay men and women to openly serve in our armed forces. And this repeal is authored so that the Pentagon can complete its review of the policy -- which is critical, by the way, not only to passage, but it’s also critical to making sure that the change is accepted and implemented effectively.
"In the Senate, the Armed Services Committee has approved repeal for the first time, and the full body is poised to vote soon,” Obama continued. “So here’s the bottom line: We have never been closer to ending this discriminatory policy. And I’m going to keep on fighting until that bill is on my desk and I can sign it.”
Where's Congress?
The conservative Family Research Council says the Obama administration's new regulations will “sweep away the law protecting marriage and turn the Family and Medical Leave Act into another weapon that the White House will use to bludgeon DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) into extinction.”
Moreover, the Labor Department’s new interpretation of the Family and Medical Leave Act “will be implemented without so much as a courtesy call to America's real lawmaking body, Congress,” FRC warned.
“Under Article I of the Constitution, America's lawmaking ability is wholly vested in the House and Senate--not government agencies or 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. By granting these special privileges to homosexuals -- privileges that are in direct conflict with U.S. law -- the President is breaching the Constitution and its limits on Executive authority.”
The Family Research Council says President Obama is getting away with it because he knows that Americans will keep quiet on issues such as homosexuality.
“But no matter how indifferent voters may be to the President's gay agenda, they must understand that the White House is gaining power to use in other areas," FRC warned.
"The administration is becoming a government bully that steps on the rights of states, the will of the people, and the morals of our nation. And slowly but surely, the President is disarming America from fighting back. He will keep testing the boundaries of his authority until we relinquish all of ours.”
