Is Obama America's First "Gay" President?

Former President Bill Clinton was given the nickname the first "black" president. President Obama, as the first black president, may one day be given a nickname of his own: the first "gay" president. In just two years he's already proven to be the gay friendliest president. Obama's decision last week to stop defending the constitutionality of a portion of the controversial Defense of Marriage Act came as a surprise and shock to the LGBT community. Courageous, historic, monumental, and extraordinary were just some of the words used to describe the announcement.

Director of Get Equal, Robin McGhee agrees Obama thus far has been the gay friendliest president, but she added: "I don't believe there was a high bar to judge off of though."

She said there's still more work to be done for LGBT rights.

"My role is to fight until we have everything," she said. "Yes I do believe we are making progress but at same time there are young people killing themselves. So it's never going to be fast enough."

The LGBT community generally loved President Clinton, but even as much as he may have supported the community he put in to place two laws that gays and lesbians have been fighting against the day they were implemented - Don't Ask Don't Tell and DOMA.

In just two short years though Obama has already undone Clinton's DADT and hammered the first nail in DOMA's coffin. Besides those two feats he signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act; signed a memorandum expanding federal benefits for the same-sex partners of Foreign Service and executive branch government employees; and issued a Presidential Memorandum directing the HHS Secretary to ensure that hospitals allows partners of gays and lesbians to visit their loved ones in the hospital.

In addition he's appointed more than 150 openly gay people to office so far. And that's only in two years. Clinton appointed 140 openly gay people over the course of eight years in office.

To compare Obama to Clinton may not be fair though. They're obviously serving in very different environments. Polls now show more than 70 percent of the population against DADT, and two polls last year, showed for the first time, a majority of American's supporting gay marriage. In 1996 when Clinton signed DOMA in to law one poll from Gallup showed 68 percent of American's against gay marriage and only 27 percent in favor. Last year Gallup showed 53 percent against and 44 percent in favor. While all of the polls may have different numbers the trend remains the same - more American's supporting gay marriage.

Obama's biggest criticism in regards to gay rights so far seems to be that he's moving too slow as McGhee pointed out. Obama took a calculated and methodical approach to repealing DADT that started with a yearlong study. With his recent DOMA announcement it appears he may be taking the same approach. His decision only affected two DOMA cases making their way through the courts. However, just two days after the announcement the White House announced that they would also stop defending DOMA in a third case. The ripple effects have already been felt.

"This wasn't politically necessary," said openly gay Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts. "[Obama] didn't do this for political reasons. This shows the president is committed to our rights. It's the best you can get from the federal government and it was a smart strategy from the legal team."

It's too early to tell what significance last week's announcement will have in the long run, but LGBT organizations are praising the decision and believe it will make a big difference in the years to come.

But even if Obama can't get rid of DOMA, just ending DADT fulfilled a huge campaign promise from Obama to the LGBT community. During his campaign for president he promised repeal DADT and extend federal benefits to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions.

Frank called the DOMA decision "extraordinary" and believes it will have major ramifications in future legal cases.

"This is a really big deal," he said. "This is a great day. We've made great progress."

Human Rights Council President Joe Solmonese called the decision "monumental" and also said the president is committed to LGBT rights.

Shelbi Day, staff attorney on LBGT advocacy project at the ACLU of Florida, added: "This was a history changing announcement. It's a courageous stand by the White House and Department of Justice for what's right and just. This is going to have an enormous impact moving forward to LGBT equality."