Obama tipped to address gay rights dinner

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US president Barack Obama is reportedly planning to speak at a gay rights dinner on Saturday, the day before a gay rights march on Washington.

He will attend the Human Rights Campaign fundraising dinner gala, a White House source told Associated Press.

The source is said to be familiar with the president’s schedule but spoke on condition of anonymity as the White House has not yet confirmed the plans.

If Obama does address the event, he will be the second president to do so. Bill Clinton spoke at the dinner in 1997.

The president promised a wealth of positive changes for gays and lesbians in his election manifesto, although activists have been disappointed that policies such as the military gay ban and the Defence of Marriage Act are still in place.

More than 30 speakers have been selected to appear at the march on Sunday, including long-time activist Cleve Jones, who worked alongside murdered San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk.

Others are Judy Shepard, the mother of murdered gay teenager Matthew Shepard, Lt Dan Choi, who was sacked from the US Army for being gay, and Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.

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