Gay rights advocates march on DC, divided on Obama

WASHINGTON – Thousands of gay and lesbian activists were expected to converge Sunday in a march from the White House to the Capitol, demanding that President Barack Obama keep his promises to push for civil rights protections from the federal government. Some participants in the National Equality March woke up energized by Obama's blunt pledge to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military during a speech to the nation's largest gay rights group Saturday night. The president also said he would work to ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and to give same-sex couples the same civil rights as straight couples. "I'm here with you in that fight," Obama said. He acknowledged some had grown impatient that he wasn't pushing for changes faster but urged advocates to continue pressing him and Congress to act. Obama's political energies have been focused on two wars, the economic crisis and health care reform, though he pledged "unwavering" commitment even as he wrestled with those problems. March organizer Cleve Jones, creator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt and a protege of gay rights pioneer Harvey Milk, said he had initially discouraged a rally earlier in the year. But he and others began to worry Obama was backing away from his campaign promises. "Since we've seen that so many times before, I didn't want it to happen again," he said. "We're not settling. There's no such thing as a fraction of equality."