The Obama administration — ever eager to advance its 2011 theme of “winning the future” — has now extended the three-word slogan to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality with an official White House web page: “Winning the Future: President Obama and the LGBT Community.”
Brian Bond, deputy director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, described the page in an email as the “first ever LGBT specific constituency webpage” and wrote, “Please take a look at our Winning the Future for LGBT Americans factsheet (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/factsheet_lgbt.pdf) and sign up for our e-mail updates (http://www.whitehouse.gov/webform/sign-updates-issues-impacting-lgbt-community) that will keep you up to speed with what is going on in the Administration. We encourage you to spread the word about this site to your friends, families, and the communities you work with.”
In addition to the fact sheet and email sign-up page, the LGBT home page contains links to the administration’s “It Gets Better” videos; White House blog posts relating to LGBT issues; LGBT-related news releases from the administration; and links to resources, including StopBullying.gov, AIDS.gov and the Defense Department’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal page.
The two-page, “The Obama Administration’s Commitment to Winning the Future for the LGBT Community” fact sheet contains many bullet points of accomplishments — similar to but more expansive than Tuesday’s 2011 LGBT Pride Month proclamation from Obama — and three bullet points about future progress. The “progress” points all relate, at least in part, to relationship recognition — a topic absent from Tuesday’s proclamation.
Supporting LGBT Progress
- President Obama has called for the Congressional repeal of the discriminatory “Defense of Marriage Act” and has announced that in his view, Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional
- President Obama also continues to support legislation that would directly impact the LGBT community, including an inclusive ENDA and the Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act
- President Obama believes that all students should be safe and healthy and learn in environments free from discrimination, bullying and harassment; that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation; and that Americans with partners from other countries should not be faced with a painful choice between staying with their partner or staying in their country
Read the full fact sheet below the jump.
* * *
The Obama Administration’s Commitment to Winning the Future for the LGBT Community
The Obama Administration has taken decisive actions and made historic strides to advance Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender equality and strengthen LGBT families and communities, and continues to do so. Some of these accomplishments include:
Preventing bullying and hate crimes against LGBT Americans
Supporting LGBT families
Ensuring equal access to housing for LGBT families
Supporting LGBT health
Supporting job creation among LGBT-owned businesses
Setting precedents in hiring and benefits for LGBT Americans
Repealing the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Law
Providing global leadership on LGBT issues
Supporting LGBT Progress
By John Riley on March 12, 2024 @JRileyMW
Voters in Huntington Beach, California, a Los Angeles exurb in Orange County, approved a measure last week to ban the Pride flag and any other non-governmental banners on city property. The move is part of a larger right-wing push against LGBTQ visibility.
While only 31% of registered voters showed up at the polls in this year's presidential primary, the primary ballot also featured Measure B, which sought to limit the types of flags displayed on government property. Nearly 58% of those voters endorsed the measure, according to county election results.
Moving forward, any flag representing a political or social cause, such as breast cancer awareness, a specific religion, or a specific community -- such as the LGBTQ community -- will not be permitted to fly on city-owned flagpoles.
By André Hereford on April 5, 2024 @here4andre
In the taut, London-set thriller Femme, a chance encounter between fabulously femme drag performer Jules, and macho, drug-dealing punk Preston kicks off a twisted cycle of both intense mutual attraction and disturbing violence that neither seems able or willing to resist.
First comes attraction. Jules, portrayed with brilliant openness by Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, is standing outside the club in full drag as Aphrodite when she spots, hovering alone across the street, Preston, embodied with tightlipped, tattooed swagger by 1917 star George MacKay.
Jules, as Aphrodite, next sees Preston at a nearby corner shop among his rowdy friends. Someone slings the F-slur, then comes the violence of a vicious anti-LGBTQ attack that leaves Jules scarred and broken.
By John Riley on April 4, 2024 @JRileyMW
The construction of the highly anticipated LGBTQ nightclub "Town 2.0," which was slated to open in the former St. Phillip's Church building on North Capitol St. NE, has indefinitely stalled, raising questions about whether -- and when -- the promised nightlife venue will ever open.
On April 2, Town 2.0 LLC filed a lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court against Jemal's Sanctuary LLC, an affiliate of Douglas Development Corporation and the owner of the former St. Phillip's Church building. The lawsuit alleges breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment.
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