Rev. Irene Monroe Questions Barack Obama's Commitment to LGBT Issues

As Barack Obama swept the Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. primaries yesterday, openly gay Reverend Irene Monroe provocatively weighed in on the sincerity of the candidate's commitment to LGBT equality with a posting on The Bilerico Project. 
 
While Obama supports civil unions, federal employment non-discrimination protections and inclusive hate crimes legislation, Rev. Monroe questioned his unwillingness to make LGBT equality a visible cornerstone of his campaign.  Pointing to Obama's request to not be photographed with San Francisco mayor and marriage equality advocate Gavin Newsom in 2004, Rev. Monroe expressed concern that Obama's "big tent" strategy of bringing together diverse voters--even those who hold anti-gay views—suggests that he will end up neglecting the LGBT community if he is elected president.
 
Despite considerable enthusiasm among many Democratic LGBT voters about the prospective candidates, there is still a great deal of hesitation about how the candidates will work to meet the needs of the LGBT community if elected.  Though many mainstream media outlets are touting the support that Clinton and Obama have from the LGBT community, a lot of LGBT bloggers continue to question whether the candidates will still be as supportive after the primary season is over.
 
Overall, Rev. Monroe remained optimistic about Obama's long-term commitment to equality.  However, she said that Obama's LGBT supporters and their allies must remain visible and politically engaged in order to maintain his commitment.  She says, "If we neither hold him to his promises to us nor have him expound on them we will then have participated in the closeting of ourselves and the disenfranchisement of our full and equal rights when he's elected.”