Register | Login

Search results for task, force, leader, community, messages, president, dreams, press, release

This isn't the historic announcement that many are hoping for, but it is a sign that when it comes to the issue of marriage equality, President Obama might be shifting his political position.Perhaps this doesn't come as a surprise, especially for those who always thought that President Obama's opposition to gay marriage was rooted more in politics than principle. Indeed, in the late 1990s, President Obama (then a candidate for the Illinois State Legislature) indicated that he supported the righ
10/27/2010- by Natasia LangfelderLots of Jon Stewart (congratulations Most Influential Man of 2010) and Obama news today. Did you miss the President on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night? Don’t worry, you can watch it here! Let us know what you think of the President’s interview in the comments!Related articles
Hope sometimes can be a rare commodity. It also can be a dangerous one. Hope creates expectations and if they aren't fulfilled they can be devastating to people's dreams. In 2008 many of us responded to Barack Obama's campaign with hope and enthusiasm that I have never seen in my fifty years of working in politics. Millions around the world chanted "Yes We Can" and really believed that our lives would be dramatically different under a President Obama. Our hearts and souls were filled with hope
Mr. President, with great respect, I am mentioning this during the holiday season because this time for many is fraught with sadness, fear and pain. Exiled Americans, who are with their spouses, cannot come home to spend Xmas with extended families and if they do, they have to leave spouses abroad. Tens of thousands of same sex couples are unable to spend these holidays together because they are stuck in different countries. These families cannot wait any longer. Our binational spouses and partners are being turned away at US airports, even as I write these words, at the arbitrary instance of an ICE officer....
With the nation's attention still focused on health care, it may seem like comprehensive immigration reform has been swept under the rug. Don't worry--it may be quiet right now, but CIR is not dead. This past week members of Congress have shown us that immigration reform legislation is still on the agenda.

The legal center report said repealing DOMA is “an obvious and necessary step to ending federal discrimination against gay and lesbian couples.”

Entitled “A Devastating Wait: Family Unity and the Immigration Backlogs,” the report includes a long laundry list of recommendations for immigration legislation, including reclassifying spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents as immediate relatives, exempting Filipino World War II veterans from annual quotas and placing a permanent three-year cap on wait times for family-sponsored visas – which woul
How does Obama the President compare to Obama the candidate on gay rights? It's no secret that GLBT advocates have expressed disappointment and frustration with decisions by the White House to avoid pressing for gay rights during the first year of the administration. No executive order to halt the discharges of gay troops; no bold leadership on passing non-discrimination legislation; no mention of a ballot initiative in Maine to reverse marriage equality that might have made a real difference in the loss there Tuesday. We helped elect him with our votes, money, and time because we were promised change. But in our lives as GLBT people, that's not what's being delivered.
And now we're in a pickle. Most are...

The 'so-called' Defense of Marriage Act? That 'so-called' is the sound of contempt toward the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim understanding of marriage.
... you are not included in any of tonight's promises under the Immigration and Naturalization Act, until repeal of DOMA or passage of stand-alone legislation such as the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) or Comprehensive Immigration ...
It was just several months ago that White House officials were promising that President Obama would address immigration reform before the end of the year. It seems as if the LGBT immigration equality leadership has continued to hang its top hat on the passage of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, as being the only way the LGBT community can earn recognition in the immigration system, through the incorporation of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) in the larger reform legislation.
When UAFA was introduced again this year in January by New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler, it was hailed by the organizations and money was raised from our community in the name of this proposed stand-alone legislation. We were all excited and on board for the big push.
NAACP BOARD CHAIRMAN LEADS GROUP OF RECENT, HIGH-PROFILE ENDORSEMENTS FOR THE NATIONAL EQUALITY MARCH Diverse Ranks Continue to Deepen as “Equality Across America” Expands Los Angeles, CA, August 18 – Broad-based support for the National Equality March (NEM) has been growing exponentially across the country over the past few weeks, according to its organizer Equality Across America (EAA). Thousands of Americans are hearing the drumbeat for LGBT equality and plan to follow it to the nation’s capital this October. Thousands of individuals representing dozens of organizations from across the country have gone to the organization’s website to sign up.

US Representative, Danny K. Davis, of Chicago, Illinois; Michael Letwin, Co-Convener, New York City Labor Against the War (NYCLAW); and NAACP Board Chairman, Julian Bond, have all recently voiced their support for the NEM. “GLBT r
No one said it was going to be easy, but six months into President Obama's term his approval rating has dropped below 60 percent, with more people disapproving his handling of the economy and deficit than not. From his recent pressers and speeches, it appears that President Obama is going to spend the bulk of his remaining political capital on health care reform, a signature issue during his campaign.

With President Obama going "all in" with health care, what does it mean for the other issues, such as comprehensive immigration reform and gay rights?

Well, it's apparent that...
At a recent chapter meeting the Flat Rock/Hendersonville PFLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) decided to speak out for marriage equality for all people. There are over 1,100 rights, benefits and responsibilities conferred on married couples by the federal government including access to health care, parenting and immigration rights, social security, veterans and survivor benefits, and transfer of property -- and that doesn't include state and local law, and employers, or the intangible security, dignity, and meaning that comes with marriage.

These federal rights are denied gays and lesbians who are in committed relationships.

Ending the exclusion of gay people from marriage would not change the "definition" of marriage, but it would remove a discriminatory barrier from the path of people who have made a personal commitment to each other and
The world of development economics struggles over how to define development and what to call developing countries. Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize winner and leader in development economics, defines development as an increased freedom to participate in society. This week the US could do with a little more thought on its own development as well as Africa's. (We're not done yet, I hope.)

Marriage equality is an important step toward LGBT inclusion in the US. But from the LGBT labor perspective, there are two pieces of legislation that in some ways play a greater part in defining Americans' freedom to participate in their society: The Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Uniting American Families Act....
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey hand-delivered a binder containing messages from nearly 700 supporters of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights to President Obama at the White House's Pride Month reception on June 29.

Late last week, the Task Force solicited the feedback from community members, asking: "What would you say to the president if you had the opportunity?" Many of the responses presented by Carey to the president spotlighted people's stories of discrimination and hopes for equality. Marriage equality, family recognition, nondiscrimination protections, immigration, health care reform, hate crimes and abolishing the military ban were common themes; while the topics were over-arching, the stories were unique and personal.
Monday’s Stonewall action builds upon this momentum, as well as on the June 28 Pride March in Manhattan, which honored the Stonewall rebellion, and on the increasing national attention on ENDA, DOMA, DADT, Hate Crimes and the United American Families Act (UAFA), which provides immigration equality for bi-national same-sex couples.

“Even if each of the pieces of legislation passes, they don’t represent the entirety of what it means to be a full citizen with full civil rights,” said The Power’s Campagna, who is also a fundraiser for Democratic candidates and was on Obama’s LGBT Steering Committee.

Username:

Password:

Remember:

Follow on Twitter
Feedburner

Subscribe with Bloglines

Promoting public awareness of the need for fairness in immigration policy particularly as it relates to the rights of same-sex bi-national couples in the United States who seek equal immigration rights; Providing information regarding political issues relating to gay immigration equality issues, rights and policy.