Brody's Notes... White House Will Wait For Pentagon To Complete DADT Review

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs  Photo By Brody Levesque

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Apr 21 | White House Press Secretary Roberts Gibbs, before giving answer to questions regarding DADT and the GetEqual Protesters in front of the White House yesterday, from The Advocate's Senior White House correspondent Kerry Eleveld, acknowledged that there were overzealous actions that pushed the press corps back away from the scene preventing adequate media coverage:

"Let me address the actions of the U. S. Park Police yesterday. The Park Police have rightly taken responsibility for some overzealous actions that they have corrected although belatedly. The White House & the Secret Service did not have any role in that decision making," he said.

Eleveld mentioned the President being heckled Monday night in Los Angeles at the Democratic Fundraiser for U. S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) followed by the 6 GetEqual protesters handcuffing themselves to the fence and then she asked Gibbs:

"Has White House had misjudged the level of patience among LGBT & grass roots activists on this?"

Gibbs said:

"Look I would remind anybody on this issue, the President made a commitment in the presidential campaign, and understands the passion that people hold the belief that all should be able to serve. The President holds that belief too. 

I would remind folks that this is not just a believe the President held in 2007, but in 2003 when he was in running for the Senate.  

So Kerry, [Eleveld] the President has made and is committed to making this change, law. I don't think he's underestimated as you've put it, the patience of some, The President wants to see this law changed just as you've heard the Chair of the Joint Chiefs and others in the military say that its time for that change to happen."

Gibbs was then asked if the President was committed to letting the change go through the working process by the Defence Department study currently underway.

"The President has set forward with a process with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the President has set forward with a process with the Secretary of Defence to work through this issue," he answered.

Eleveld then asked if this meant that this ruled out any legislative actions this year. Gibbs told her that;

"The House and the Senate are obviously a different branch of government, the President has a proposal and a process that he believes is the best way for seeing to the commitment he's had for these many years in moving forward in to changing this law."