Towleroad has a round-up of who has spoken up against the Uganda bill which would mandate the death penalty for anyone found to be gay.

* Statement from the White House: “The president strongly opposes efforts, such as the draft law pending in Uganda, that would criminalize homosexuality and move against …

Obama’s White House remarks on hate crimes

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT RECEPTION COMMEMORATING THE ENACTMENT OF THE MATTHEW SHEPARD AND JAMES BYRD, JR. HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT

East Room

5:45 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much, everybody. Thank you so much, and welcome to the White House.

There are several people here that I want to just make mention …

White House wants input on HIV/AIDS

White House wants input on HIV/AIDS

Congress returns – much at stake for gays

Congress is back for the last three months of the Obama administration’s first year in the White House, and suddenly, every bill is on fire–eight of 12 appropriations bills in the Senate, bills to steady a still wobbly economy facing an almost 10 percent unemployment rate, and bills to address climate …

Obama statement on DOMA

From the White House:

Statement by the President on the Smelt v. United States Brief

Today, the Department of Justice has filed a response to a legal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, as it traditionally does when acts of Congress are challenged. This brief makes clear, …

Liberal bloggers watch Obama closely, want action

(Pittsburgh) They wish he’d done more in his first eight months, but the liberal bloggers who helped propel Barack Obama to the White House are far from giving up on him.

Gathered in Pittsburgh for the annual Netroots Nation convention, they say they’re not disappointed. At least not too disappointed. Yet.

If …

Obama names Medal of Freedom recipients, including Harvey Milk …

President Obama, attempting to spotlight those who have acted as “agents of change,” today announced that he will bestow the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor, on a cast of living and deceased figures widely known in politics, the arts and sciences, sports and social movements.

The 16 honorees named by the White House today include Harvey Milk, the San Francisco city supervisor who led an early movement for gay rights in public life and was assassinated. They include the late Republican Congressman Jack Kemp, a football legend as well, and the ailing Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.

The president’s choices, who will be honored at a White House ceremony Aug. 12, include American civil-rights activist the Rev. Joseph Lowery and South African freedom fighter Desmond Tutu. They include a pioneer in sports for women, tennis star Billie Jean King, and the first woman on the Supreme Court, retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

They include actor Sidney Poitier and singer Chita Rivera.
See

Obama names Medal of Freedom recipients, including Harvey Milk …

Los Angeles Times

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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/obama-names-m…

On Gay Issues, Obama Asks to Be Judged on Vows Kept

WASHINGTON — President Obama defended his policies on gay rights on Monday, telling an audience of gay men and lesbians that he remained committed to overturning the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule and that he expected to be judged “not by promises I’ve made but by the promises that my administration keeps.”

Mr. Obama made his remarks at a reception in the East Room of the White House to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, the 1969 uprising that gave rise to the modern gay rights movement. Joined by his wife, Michelle, the president directly addressed criticism from gay and lesbian leaders that he had not been a forceful advocate for them.

“I know that many in this room don’t believe progress has come fast enough, and I understand that,” Mr. Obama said. “It’s not for me to tell you to be patient any more than it was for others to counsel patience to African-Americans who were petitioning for equal rights a half-century ago.

“We’ve been in office six months now. I suspect that by the time this administration is over, I think you guys will have pretty good feelings about the Obama administration.”

Many lesbians and gay men supported Mr. Obama’s election, but their leaders have grown increasingly impatient and critical of him as president.

See On Gay Issues, Obama Asks to Be Judged on Vows Kept

New York Times -