Reagan didn't have to sign that first ever gay rights legislation while governor of California. He could have vetoed it. And politics had nothing to do with pushing the Brady handgun bill after he left office. And a lot of Americans, including Democrats (who weren't so crazy at that time) wouldn't have minded a more aggressive pushing to punish those responsible for the bombing of our military's barracks.
The problem with those two arguments have nothing to do with what Reagan did or did not do as President.