President Barack Obama endorsed the right of same-sex couples to marry on Wednesday, a landmark pronouncement made in light of mounting pressure from gay rights advocates.
Obama became the first U.S. president to back the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry, a reversal from views expressed during the 2008 campaign, when he said he opposed same-sex marriage but favored civil unions as an alternative.
Obama told ABC News that, after reflection, he had “concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.”
chumble spuzz
Posts tagged lgbt
May9
May8
This is an interesting state-by-state look at gay rights laws in the United States from the Guardian. The regional breakdown is nice, and I like the way you can read a state’s general stance on gay rights at a glance once you understand the legend.
I was surprised by two things:
1) At least in terms of the rights analyzed in this graphic, Iowa’s as gay-friendly as any state in the country. I would not have guessed that.
2) Michigan stands alongside Mississippi and Utah as the only states to a) not have laws on the books for any of the listed permissions or protections and to b) specifically prohibit both marriage and adoption by same-sex couples.
Gay rights in the US, state by state
Gay rights laws in America have evolved to allow — but in some cases ban — rights for gay, lesbian and transgender people on a range of issues, including marriage, hospital visitation, adoption, housing, employment and school bullying. The handling of gay rights issues vary by state and follow trends by region.
(via guardian.co.uk)
Sep20
Nice to see the President of the United States highlight these steps as an accomplishment. Click here for a link to the full PDF version of the graphic.
Progress for the LGBT community
From hosting the first White House LGBT pride reception in 2009 to declaring the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional this February, here’s a timeline of steps President Obama has taken for LGBT equality since taking office.
(via BarackObama.com)
Oct1
Dan Savage’s It Gets Better Project is awesome.
From Savage Love:
Nine out of 10 gay teenagers experience bullying and harassment at school, and gay teens are four times likelier to attempt suicide. Many LGBT kids who do kill themselves live in rural areas, exurbs, and suburban areas, places with no gay organizations or services for queer kids…
…Today we have the power to give these kids hope. We have the tools to reach out to them and tell our stories and let them know that it does get better. Online support groups are great, GLSEN does amazing work, the Trevor Project is invaluable. But many LGBT youth can’t picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can’t imagine a future for themselves. So let’s show them what our lives are like, let’s show them what the future may hold in store for them.
The video my husband and I made is up now—all by itself. I’d like to add submissions from other gay and lesbian adults—singles and couples, with kids or without, established in careers or just starting out, urban and rural, of all races and religious backgrounds. (Go to www.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject to find instructions for submitting your video.) If you’re gay or lesbian or bi or trans and you’ve ever read about a kid like Billy Lucas and thought, “Fuck, I wish I could’ve told him that it gets better,” this is your chance. We can’t help Billy, but there are lots of other Billys out there—other despairing LGBT kids who are being bullied and harassed, kids who don’t think they have a future—and we can help them.
They need to know that it gets better. Submit a video. Give them hope.
