Gay leaders blame TV ads, Obama for loss in Maine
(San Francisco) Stunned and angry, national gay rights leaders Wednesday blamed scare-mongering ads - and President Barack Obama’s lack of engagement - for a bitter election setback in Maine that could alter the dynamics for both sides in the gay-marriage debate.
Conservatives, in contrast, celebrated Maine voters’ rejection of a law …
Tags: barack obama, Conservatives, Gay Ads, Gay Leaders, Gay Marriage Debate, Gay Rights Leaders, Gay Tv, Maine San Francisco, Maine Voters, marriage, Rejection, Scare, Setback, Tv AdsObama A “Champion” For The Gay Community?
That remains to be seen, but President Barack Obama insists that he will not neglect the rights of the gay community any longer. The President invited leaders of the community to the White House today for a reception celebrating Gay Pride Month. He spoke to the audience about the “support” the community will garner from himself and the First Lady and looks forward to changing minds as well as laws. “I will not only be your friend, I will continue to be an ally and a champion and a president who fights with you and for you,” he said. You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk????? The President addressed the fact that many gay rights leaders have viewed his administration as being somewhat lax in the fight for equal rights. However, Obama assured his guests that the fight was just beginning and that the community should look forward for things to come: “I know many in this room don’t believe that progress has come fast enough. And I understand that…I expect and hope to be judged not by words, not by promises I’ve made, but by promises that my administration keeps.”
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/obama-champio…
Gay activists impatient with Obama and Congress
(New York) Frustrated gay-rights leaders want President Barack Obama to be far more forceful in supporting their political goals, but they also fault the Democratic-led Congress and vow to step up lobbying efforts in hopes of seeing campaign promises fulfilled.
“We can wait for the president to try to move members …
Tags: barack obama, Congress, Gay Activists, Gay Rights Leaders, Led, Political Goals, VowBritish ambassador to Poland criticised for ‘pushing’ gay rights
The British ambassador to Poland has been told by the country’s civil rights ombudsman he is “exceeding his authority” by promoting a gay Pride march due to take place in Warsaw this weekend.
Ric Todd has also been accused by Catholic groups of “representing the ‘homosexual lobby”.
Earlier this week, he gave Polish gay rights leaders a UK Guide To Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender People And Their Rights, translated into Polish.
Janusz Kochanowski, the Polish civil rights ombudsman, told the Daily Mail: “Ambassador Todd has exceeded his authority. He is being improper and doesn’t understand the role of a diplomat. He represents the UK, he is not meant to intervene here in the way that he chooses.”
He added that Polish gays do not live in fear of persecution.
Slawomir Skiba, the editor of Catholic newspaper Christian Polonia, also attacked Todd’s actions.
“The ambassador has demonstrated an extreme lack of diplomacy and absolute ignorance of the values by which the vast majority of our society lives,” he said, adding that Todd should ensure he represents Britain, rather than the “homosexual lobby”. See British ambassador to Poland criticised for ‘pushing’ gay rights
PinkNews.co.uk
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/06/british-ambas…
UK PM blasts Prop 8
(London) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has blasted the California law banning same-sex marriage. Brown called Proposition 8, as it is known, “unacceptable” and said it was a setback for civil rights in the United States.
Brown made the comments during a speech to British gay rights leaders during a reception …
Tags: Blasts, British Prime Minister, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, California Law, Civil Rights, Gay Rights Leaders, Gordon Brown, marriage, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, same sex marriage, Setback, Uk London, united statesGay rights leaders express hope for future
(Denver, Colorado) Some 2,000 LGBT civil rights activists from across the country are headed home with a new sense of propose following a four day national conference in Denver.
The Creating Change conference sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is the nation’s largest annual convening of LGBT rights …
Tags: Civil Rights Activists, Creating Change Conference, Denver Colorado, Express, Gay And Lesbian, Gay And Lesbian Task Force, Gay Lesbian, Gay Rights Leaders, Lesbian Task Force, Lgbt Rights, National Gay And Lesbian Task ForceObama Passes On Gay Cabinet Member
With the appointment of California Representative Hilda Solis (Democrat) to the position of Labor Secretary, the aspirations of gay rights leaders for a cabinet-level appointment have most likely evaporated.
Openly lesbian Mary Beth Maxwell had been considered a strong contender for the position. Maxwell is the founding executive director of American Rights at Work, and had helped line up support for the pro-union Employee Free Choice Act.
It was just last week that members of President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team met with dozens of gay and lesbian activists fueling speculation that a cabinet-level appointment might be in the offing.
But no openly gay, bisexual or transgender person has ever served in one of the fifteen cabinet secretary positions that report directly to the president.
In that meeting, Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, made it clear to the Obama transition team that he felt the political aspirations of the gay community had not yet been fully realized: “We have paid our political dues, but still have not benefited greatly from that.”
See Obama Passes On Gay Cabinet Member
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2008/12/obama-passes-…
