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

Wed Jun 11 10:06:25 EDT 2008

Vote for McCain if you think he'll do better by these communities.

Does everyone need specific, explicit validation these days?

cm

On 6/11/08 9:10 AM, "Stacy Howard" <stacy_howard at bellsouth.net> wrote:

> 
> 
> 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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> 
> _______________________________________________
> This is a mailing of the National Association for Multicultural Education -
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> perspectives of NAME Listserv participants and do not necessarily reflect a
> position of the National Association for Multicultural Education. If you would
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