Gay Rights Watch » barack obama

U.S. Finally Joins Developed World in Voting to Condemn Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation

Bryan — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:59:51 +0000

Back in December, France led a United Nations vote to officially decriminalize homosexuality. And while many Middle Eastern countries, as well as the Vatican opposed the resolution, joining the resistance was none other than the US of A. But that was back when the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations was a George W. Bush appointee. Now, we’ve got Team Obama reversing course.

At the so-called “Durban Review Conference” on racism and xenophonia underway in Geneva, Europe again put forward language condemning “all forms of discrimination and all other human rights violations based on sexual orientation.” According to UN Watch, “The Czech Republic on behalf of the E.U., with the support of New Zealand, the United States, Colombia, Chili on behalf of the South American states, the Netherlands, Argentina and a few others, took the floor in support.”

[UN Dispatch]

via

Obama: What a Difference A Day Makes

Bryan — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:19:02 +0000

Taking a look at www.whitehouse.gov you’ll see a big new change. Not only does the site have a great new design, it has some amazing new verbiage surrounding LGBT rights.

Via President Obama’s site:

Support for the LGBT Community

“While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It’s about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect.”
– Barack Obama, June 1, 2007

Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. President Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, President Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.

Fight Workplace Discrimination: President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees’ domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. The President also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.

Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: President Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.

Repeal Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell: President Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.

Expand Adoption Rights: President Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.

Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, President Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. The President will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. President Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma — too often tied to homophobia — that continues to surround HIV/AIDS.

Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. President Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.

A welcomed day indeed. Congrats President Obama.

Gay Bishop Gene Robinson’s Prayer, A Version You Can Actually Hear (Video)

Bryan — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:06:35 +0000

HBO cut Bishop Gene Robinson’s prayer, they now are saying the Obama transition team pulled the plug. In any case, here is the prayer from Bishop Gene Robinson.

AfterElton.com has spoken to HBO, who says the decision to cut Robinson was made by the Obama transition team.

Gay Bishop Gene Robinson To Deliver Invocation At First Inaugural Event

Bryan — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:36:51 +0000

Gene Robinson, the Episcopal church’s first gay bishop, will deliver the invocation at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, January 18 – the formal kickoff leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Obama.

Thousands of people are expected to attend the service, including the President-elect.

“It will be an enormous honor to offer prayers for the country and the new president, standing on the holy ground where the ‘I have a dream speech’ was delivered by Dr. King, surrounded by the inspiring and reconciling words of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address,” Robinson wrote in a weekend e-mail to supporters.

Read the rest here.

Obama Defends Choosing Rick Warren for Inauguration Invocation

Bryan — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:19:57 +0000

There’s no excuse for choosing Rick Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration. A long time foe of gay rights and a major back of Proposition 8, what the hell is Obama thinking?

After reading the below article, please take action here.
Via CBS News:
President-elect Barack Obama’s announcement Wednesday that Pastor Dr. Rick Warren will give the invocation at the inauguration has set off a firestorm of criticism from liberal and gay rights activists.

Warren is the best-selling author of The Purpose Driven Life and other books, as well as the pastor of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. He is known as a “new evangelical” who stresses issues like poverty and climate change alongside other traditional conservative Christian issues. He also hosted a forum at his church in August with both Mr. Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain.

His selection by Mr. Obama further cements his place as one of the nation’s preeminent religious leaders and also is seen as a clear sign to reach out to evangelical and conservative voters who didn’t support him in last month’s election.

But it is Warren’s strong opposition to abortion and particularly gay marriage which has many on the left up in arms over him being given such a prominent role in the inauguration.

The Human Rights Campaign, the largest homosexual rights organization in the U.S., sent a strident letter to Mr. Obama, urging him to reconsider and calling the invitation “a genuine blow.”

“By inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table,” says the letter by Joe Solmonese, president of the group. “We feel a deep level of disrespect when one of the architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination.”

The letter takes particular issue with Warren’s support of Proposition 8 in California, which banned gay marriage and also tries to tie Warren to Dr. James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family and a vocal leader in the social conservative community.

“Rev. Warren cannot name a single theological issue that he and vehemently, anti-gay theologian James Dobson disagree on,” Solmonese says. (You can read the full letter here)

“It’s a huge mistake,” California gay rights activist Rick Jacobs told the Politico. “Can you imagine if he had a man of God doing the invocation who had deliberately said that Jews are not going to be saved and therefore should be excluded from what’s going on in America? People would be up in arms.”

Gay rights groups were not the only ones on the left opposed to Warren’s inclusion in the inauguration.

Kathryn Kolbert, president of the liberal group People For the American Way, called giving Warren this honor a “grave disappointment”

“The sad truth is that this decision further elevates someone who has in recent weeks actively promoted legalized discrimination and denigrated the lives and relationships of millions of Americans,” Kolbert said. (Read the full statement.)

In The Nation, Sarah Posner wrote the following: “Obama had thousands of clergy to choose from, and the choice of Warren is not only a slap in the face to progressive ministers toiling on the front lines of advocacy and service but a bow to the continuing influence of the religious right in American politics.”

“Warren represents the absolute worst of the Democrats’ religious outreach, a right-winger masquerading as a do-gooder anointed as the arbiter of what it means to be faithful,” she added. (Read the full column.)

Mr. Obama himself responded to the growing controversy when prompted by a question during a news conference today designed to announce a trio of financial regulators. The president-elect stressed that he is a “fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans,” but said it was also important for Americans to come together despite disagreements on social issues.

Mr. Obama said the inauguration would include people with a wide variety of viewpoints represented and “that’s how it should be.”

He also pointed out that he was invited by Warren a few years ago to speak at his church, despite his disagreement with Warren on those issues. “That dialogue is part of what my campaign has been about,” he added.

Obama Transition Team Bans Discrimination

Bryan — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:57:13 +0000

The Obama-Biden transition team is telling prospective employees in the new administration it will not discriminate against LGBT workers.

“The Obama-Biden Transition Project does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or any other basis of discrimination prohibited by law,” the Transition team says on its official Web site.
Although the commitment pertains only to transition team workers, LGBT civil rights activists say they believe Obama will issue an Executive Order shortly after being sworn in to extend that throughout the administration.

“The inclusion of gender identity is a bold departure from the past – and it sends a clear message,” said Christopher E. Anders, ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel.

“By including sexual orientation and gender identity in its non-discrimination policy, the Obama-Biden transition team makes clear that it will focus on the relevant qualities that actually predict an applicant’s success on the job – professional experience, character, skills and education.”

Although President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 11478, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, there are no explicit federal protections from gender identity bias in government hiring.

via 365

Barack Obama Victory Speech

Bryan — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:53:34 +0000

Here are the first 9 minutes of Barack Obama’s victory speech in Chicago’s Grant Park.

Barack Obama: Our President

Bryan — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:17:02 +0000

It’s official. A victory for America.

reports:

CNN projects that Barack Obama will be the nation’s 44th president.

Barack’s Grandmother Passes Away One Day Before Election Day

Bryan — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:08:21 +0000

Tragic news today from the Obama campaign, Barack’s grandmother has passed away after a long battle with cancer.

Via CNN:
Sen. Barack Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died following a bout with cancer, Obama and his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, said Monday.

She was 86.

“She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility,” their statement said.

“She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances. She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring. Our debt to her is beyond measure.”

Obama and Soetoro-Ng asked that donations be made for the search for a cure for cancer in lieu of flowers. A small private ceremony will be held “at a later date.”

Dunham passed away peacefully at her home shortly before midnight Sunday night (5 a.m. ET), campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki told CNN. She said Obama learned of her death around 8 a.m.

The Democratic presidential candidate left the campaign trail on October 23 and flew to Honolulu, Hawaii, to spend the day with Dunham, whose health deteriorated after she suffered a broken hip.

His wife, Michelle Obama, filled in for him at events in Columbus and Akron, Ohio, on October 24.

Obama said in an interview taped for that day’s “Good Morning America” that Dunham had been “inundated” with flowers and messages from strangers who read about her in Obama’s 1995 book, “Dreams From My Father.”

“Maybe she is getting a sense of long-deserved recognition toward the end of her life,” he said.

The candidate resumed his campaign on October 25.

Obama has spoken about his grandmother often on the stump, talking about what an integral figure she was in his youth and how she struggled against the glass ceiling in her career. He and his family traveled to Hawaii in August to visit her.

“She’s the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life,” he said in his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. “She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she’s watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.”

Barack Obama’s 30 Minute Commercial (Entire Video)

Bryan — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 06:09:03 +0000

In all its glory. I’ve got to say, quite an amazing piece and tell me if I’m wrong but he never once mentioned John McCain.