(NAME-MCE) Barack Obama's Letter to LGBT People

Tue Jun 10 20:10:55 EDT 2008

Thank you for posting this. I have been very skeptical of Senator  
Obama's commitment to the LGBT community. I know some of the positive  
things he has said in public and in interviews but his actions have  
not always backed up his words. I am trying to make a good value  
judgment on where he REALLY stands. Thanks again for this post.

Stacy Howard

On Jun 10, 2008, at 11:02 AM, Warren Blumenfeld wrote:

>
>
> Andrew Belonsky at QueertyÂ
> <http://www.queerty.com/obama-campaign-calls-on-gay-clinton- 
> supporters-20080607/>did
> a great wrap-up of an Obama campaign conference
> callÂ to gay supporters which happened late on
> Friday on which former HRC executive director
> Elizabeth Birch and current president Joe
> Solmonese participated, explaining Obama's 50
> state strategy and urging Clinton supporters to rally behind the  
> party.
> Obama also receivedÂ
> <http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/jcitron/gG5V2t>the
> endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign over the weekend.
> Â
> **********
> Barack Speaks To HQ Staff & Volunteers
> Saturday, June 6, 2008
> Chicago Headquarters
> <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnhmByYxEIo>http://www.youtube.com/ 
> watch?v=bnhmByYxEIo
> **********
> Â
> Â
> ***OBAMA'S LETTER TO THE LGBT COMMUNITY***
> Iâ€™m running for President to build an America
> that lives up to our founding promise of equality
> for all – a promise that extends too our gay
> brothers and sisters. Itâ€™s wrong to have
> millions of Americans living as second-class
> citizens in this nation. And I ask for your
> support in this election so that together we can
> bring about real change for all LGBT Americans.
>
> Equality is a moral imperative. Thatâ€™s why
> throughout my career, I have fought to eliminate
> discrimination against LGBT Americans. In
> Illinois, I cosponsored a fully inclusive bill
> that prohibited discrimination on the basis of
> both sexual orientation and gender identity,
> extending protection to the workplace, housing,
> and places of public accommodation. In the U.S.
> Senate, I have cosponsored bills that would
> equalize tax treatment for same-sex couples and
> provide benefits to domestic partners of federal
> employees. And as president, I will place the
> weight of my administration behind the enactment
> of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes
> and a fully inclusive Employment Non-
> Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace
> discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
>
> As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to
> urge states to treat samesex couples with full
> equality in their family and adoption laws. I
> personally believe that civil unions represent
> the best way to secure that equal treatment. But
> I also believe that the federal government should
> not stand in the way of states that want to
> decide on their own how best to pursue equality
> for gay and lesbian couples -whether that means a
> domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil
> marriage. I support the complete repeal of the
> Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Federal law
> should not discriminate in any way against gay
> and lesbian couples, which is precisely what DOMA
> does. I have also called for us to repeal Donâ€™t
> Ask, Donâ€™t Tell, and I have worked to improve
> the Uniting American Families Act so we can
> afford same-sex couples the same rights and
> obligations as married couples in our immigration system.
>
> The next president must also address the HIV/AIDS
> epidemic. When it comes to prevention, we do not
> have to choose between values and science. While
> abstinence education should be part of any
> strategy, we also need to use common sense. We
> should have age-appropriate sex education that
> includes information about contraception. We
> should pass the JUSTICE Act to combat infection
> within our prison population. And we should lift
> the federal ban on needle exchange, which could
> dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug
> users. In addition, local governments can protect
> public health by distributing contraceptives.
>
> We also need a president whoâ€™s willing to
> confront the stigma - too often tied to
> homophobia - that continues to surround HIV/AIDS.
> I confronted this stigma directly in a speech to
> evangelicals at Rick Warrenâ€™s Saddleback
> Church, and will continue to speak out as president.
>
> That is where I stand on the major issues of the
> day. But having the right positions on the issues
> is only half the battle. The other half is to win
> broad support for those positions. And winning
> broad support will require stepping outside our
> comfort zone. If we want to repeal DOMA, repeal
> Donâ€™t Ask, Donâ€™t Tell, and implement fully
> inclusive laws outlawing hate crimes and
> discrimination in the workplace, we need to bring
> the message of LGBT equality to skeptical
> audiences as well as friendly ones - and thatâ€™s
> what Iâ€™ve done throughout my career. I brought
> this message of inclusiveness to all of America
> in my keynote address at the 2004 Democratic
> convention. I talked about the need to fight
> homophobia when I announced my candidacy for
> President, and I have been talking about LGBT
> equality to a number of groups during this
> campaign - from local LGBT activists to rural
> farmers to parishioners at Ebenezer Baptist
> Church in Atlanta, where Dr. Martin Luther King once preached.
>
> Just as important, I have been listening to what
> all Americans have to say. I will never
> compromise on my commitment to equal rights for
> all LGBT Americans. But neither will I close my
> ears to the voices of those who still need to be
> convinced. That is the work we must do to move
> forward together. It is difficult. It is challenging. And it is  
> necessary.
>
> Americans are yearning for leadership that can
> empower us to reach for what we know is possible.
> I believe that we can achieve the goal of full
> equality for the millions of LGBT people in this
> country. To do that, we need leadership that can
> appeal to the best parts of the human spirit.
> Join with me, and I will provide that leadership.
> Together, we will achieve real equality for all
> Americans, gay and straight alike.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> -----------------
>
> Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld
> Assistant Professor
> Multicultural and International Curriculum Studies
> Department of Curriculum and Instruction
> Iowa State University
> Ames, IA 50011
> wblumen at iastate.edu
> 515.294.5931 office
> 515.232.8230 home
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