Obama Declares June LGBT Month
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Obama Declares June LGBT Month
maybe not all bad. this is something i feal has been waiting for a long time to come through.
the part that grabs my attention is~
here is the whole article
The complete statement reads:
sorce~
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/05/29/Obama_Declares_June_LGBT_Month/
the part that grabs my attention is~
My Administration has advanced our journey by signing into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which strengthens Federal protections against crimes based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
here is the whole article
The complete statement reads:
The complete statement reads:
As Americans, it is our birthright that all people are created equal and deserve the same rights, privileges, and opportunities. Since our earliest days of independence, our Nation has striven to fulfill that promise. An important chapter in our great, unfinished story is the movement for fairness and equality on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. This month, as we recognize the immeasurable contributions of LGBT Americans, we renew our commitment to the struggle for equal rights for LGBT Americans and to ending prejudice and injustice wherever it exists.
LGBT Americans have enriched and strengthened the fabric of our national life. From business leaders and professors to athletes and first responders, LGBT individuals have achieved success and prominence in every discipline. They are our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters, and our friends and neighbors. Across my Administration, openly LGBT employees are serving at every level. Thanks to those who came before us, the brave men and women who marched, stood up to injustice, and brought change through acts of compassion or defiance we have made enormous progress and continue to strive for a more perfect union.
My Administration has advanced our journey by signing into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which strengthens Federal protections against crimes based on gender identity or sexual orientation. We renewed the Ryan White CARE Act, which provides life saving medical services and support to Americans living with HIV/AIDS, and finally eliminated the HIV entry ban. I also signed a Presidential Memorandum directing hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds to give LGBT patients the compassion and security they deserve in their time of need, including the ability to choose someone other than an immediate family member to visit them and make medical decisions.
In other areas, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a series of proposals to ensure core housing programs are open to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. HUD also announced the first ever national study of discrimination against members of the LGBT community in the rental and sale of housing. Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services has created a National Resource Center for LGBT Elders.
Much work remains to fulfill our Nation's promise of equal justice under law for LGBT Americans. That is why we must give committed gay couples the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple, and repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. We must protect the rights of LGBT families by securing their adoption rights, ending employment discrimination against LGBT Americans, and ensuring Federal employees receive equal benefits. We must create safer schools so all our children may learn in a supportive environment. I am also committed to ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" so patriotic LGBT Americans can serve openly in our military, and I am working with the Congress and our military leadership to accomplish that goal.
As we honor the LGBT Americans who have given so much to our Nation, let us remember that if one of us is unable to realize full equality, we all fall short of our founding principles. Our Nation draws its strength from our diversity, with each of us contributing to the greater whole. By affirming these rights and values, each American benefits from the further advancement of liberty and justice for all.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2010 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month by fighting prejudice and discrimination in their own lives and everywhere it exists.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
sorce~
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/05/29/Obama_Declares_June_LGBT_Month/
edie- Posts : 1147
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Age : 41
Location : iowa
Re: Obama Declares June LGBT Month
This was something safe for his administration to do since the majority of our population now supports this. However, more controversial parts of true equity, the right to marry or at least the right to have marriages recognised in all states and the tax rights and other rights that come with it have not been touched.
True equity is still very far away. Still, this was safe to do so; politically expedient to do the right thing for a change. It is indeed a step in the right direction.
True equity is still very far away. Still, this was safe to do so; politically expedient to do the right thing for a change. It is indeed a step in the right direction.
melodiccolor- Admin
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Join date : 2008-04-27
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Re: Obama Declares June LGBT Month
from the new york times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/07/08/us/AP-US-GayMarriage-Benef.html?partner=rss&emc=rssJudge Rules Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 8, 2010
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Filed at 5:21 p.m. ET
BOSTON (AP) -- A U.S. judge in Boston has ruled that a federal gay marriage ban is unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to define marriage.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro on Thursday ruled in favor of gay couples' rights in two separate challenges to the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA.
The state had argued the law denied benefits such as Medicaid to gay married couples in Massachusetts, where same-sex unions have been legal since 2004.
Tauro agreed, and said the act forces Massachusetts to discriminate against its own citizens.
"The federal government, by enacting and enforcing DOMA, plainly encroaches upon the firmly entrenched province of the state, and in doing so, offends the Tenth Amendment. For that reason, the statute is invalid," Tauro wrote in a ruling in a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Martha Coakley.
Ruling in a separate case filed by Gays & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, Tauro found that DOMA violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.
"We've maintained from the very beginning that there was absolutely no basis for this law treating one class of married Massachusetts couples different from everybody else and the court has recognized that," said Gary Buseck, GLAD's legal director.
The Justice Department argued the federal government has the right to set eligibility requirements for federal benefits -- including requiring that those benefits only go to couples in marriages between a man and a woman.
The law was enacted by Congress in 1996 when it appeared Hawaii would soon legalize same-sex marriage and opponents worried that other states would be forced to recognize such marriages. The lawsuit challenges only the portion of the law that prevents the federal government from affording pension and other benefits to same-sex couples.
Since then, five states and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage
edie- Posts : 1147
Join date : 2009-11-05
Age : 41
Location : iowa
Re: Obama Declares June LGBT Month
Another key step in true equality....if it holds up. This will continue, just one of many rulings. It is inevitable that the laws of marriage only being between a man and a woman and not between any consenting adults will be history; joining the laws that banned mixed race marriages and other discriminatory policies.
But it won't be easy or quick, major societal change never is.
But it won't be easy or quick, major societal change never is.
melodiccolor- Admin
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Join date : 2008-04-27
Location : The Land of Seriously Sombrerosy Wonky Stuff
Re: Obama Declares June LGBT Month
Re: the marriage legalities
I read a statement on this topic in a news blurb in which a present administration official was justifying Clinton and his DOJ upholding the hetero only marriage definition; he said there was a vested interest (?) in keeping that definition ... "14 years ago".
I wondered what that exactly meant, what's different now compared to then and 'only' 14 years past ?
MC wrote:But it won't be easy or quick, major societal change never is
I read a statement on this topic in a news blurb in which a present administration official was justifying Clinton and his DOJ upholding the hetero only marriage definition; he said there was a vested interest (?) in keeping that definition ... "14 years ago".
I wondered what that exactly meant, what's different now compared to then and 'only' 14 years past ?
RBM- Posts : 1067
Join date : 2009-04-10
Age : 70
Location : Lincoln NE
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