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 Will O'Bryan on July 9, 2024
As the authoritarian Chinese government continues to backslide on LGBTQ issues, new polling from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law indicates that Chinese people themselves may be far more accepting.
The Williams Institute study found that more than half of respondents believed LGBTQ people should be accepted by society, should be treated fairly at work and at school, and should be able to marry.
“Overall, survey respondents agreed with viewpoints that are favorable toward LGBTQ people,” write the report’s authors. “Because we do not have data from a nationally representative sample in mainland China, we cannot know whether our study respondents endorsed more positive views of LGBTQ people compared to the overall Chinese population.
By The Editors of Metro Weekly on July 13, 2024
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By John Riley on July 10, 2024 @JRileyMW
DeShawn Watkins, of Sharon, Pa., faces several criminal charges, including first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse, in relation to the death of 14-year-old Pauly Likens, a Western Pennsylvania transgender youth. Watkins is currently being held in the Mercer County Jail without bail.
Pennsylvania State Police said that dismembered human remains were found partially in the water of Shenango Lake on June 25. More dismembered remains were found in Shenango Lake and "various" remote locations over the following week. The Mercer County Coroner determined they all belonged to the same person, who was eventually identified as Likens.
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