Obama, Clinton, Holder make major Pride speeches
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Seattle Gay News
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posted Friday, June 25, 2010 - Volume 38 Issue 26 Obama, Clinton, Holder make major Pride speechesby Mike Andrew - SGN Staff Writer President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Attorney General Eric Holder gave major Pride speeches last week at events in Washington, D.C. Obama appeared at an East Room reception for LGBT activists and federal employees on June 22. The guest list included activists from several state LGBT groups, but reportedly did not include representatives of the national LGBT organizations. Seattle's Charlene Strong, Constance McMillan, who was excluded from her high school prom, and Janice Langbehn, who had been prevented from visiting her partner in the hospital as she was dying, were also present. Obama used the occasion to list the accomplishments of his administration, from the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill to a series of administrative orders giving equal benefits to federal workers. The president also reaffirmed his support for ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) and repeal of DOMA and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." "I believe that committed Gay and Lesbian couples deserve the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country, I have called for Congress to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act," Obama said to applause. "We are pushing hard to pass an inclusive employee non-discrimination bill," he continued to more applause. "No one in America should be fired because they're Gay. It's not right, it's not who we are as Americans, and we are going to put a stop to it." "And finally, we're going to end 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' That is a promise I made as a candidate. It is a promise that I reiterated as president. It's one that this administration is going to keep." Obama cautioned that the only way to make DADT repeal work is to "work with the Pentagon." Secretary Clinton Also speaking on June 22, Secretary Clinton told a gathering of 400 LGBT State department employees that the State Department would "advance a comprehensive human rights agenda" including an end to discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies, the affinity group for LGBT employees at the State Department, coordinated the event. "Just as I was very proud to say the obvious more than 15 years ago in Beijing that human rights are women's rights - and women's rights are human rights - let me say today that human rights are Gay rights and Gay rights are human rights," Clinton told the group. She said abuses of human rights include people being "harassed, beaten, subjected to sexual violence - even killed - because of who they are and who they love." "In some places, violence against the LGBT community is permitted by law and inflamed by public calls to violence," she added. "In others, it persists insidiously behind closed doors. These dangers are not Gay issues. This is a human rights issue." Clinton also mentioned new policy intended to protect Transgender State Department employees against job discrimination. "And today, I'm pleased to announce that for the first time, gender identity will be included along with sexual orientation in the State Department Equal Employee Opportunity Statement," she said. Clinton acknowledged that many LGBT Americans feel frustrated on the lack of progress on advancing LGBT issues, but she urged patience and said much progress has already been made. "I know when you're in the midst of a great movement of change, it seems like it is glacial, but any fair assessment - from my perspective, and I've lived longer than at least more than 75 percent of you - is that it is extraordinary what has happened in such a short period of time," she said. Clinton received a standing ovation before and after her speech. Attorney General Holder Attorney General Holder also spoke to an LGBT affinity group for Justice Department employees, DOJ Pride. Holder said the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act was one of the major achievements of the Obama administration. The US Code did not have a single line protecting LGBT people prior to the bill becoming law, he said. "Today, the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act - which the president signed into law last October - does just that, finally protecting our nation's [LGBT] individuals from the most brutal forms of bias-motivated violence," Holder said. The attorney general also recognized the Obama administration's recently announced reinterpretation of the Violence Against Women Act to include same-sex couples in situations involving domestic violence as another measure of progress. Holder also mentioned the adoption of a diversity management plan and the appointment of Channing Phillips as Deputy Associate Attorney General for Diversity, a newly created position. Holder said these actions would help to ensure that the Justice Department can "effectively recruit, hire, retain, and develop a workforce that reflects our nation's rich diversity - a department that welcomes and encourages the contributions of its LGBT employees." Jenny Durkan Jenny Durkan, Seattle activist and now U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington state, also spoke at the Justice Department affair. "We are the Department of Justice," she said. "In all of government, we are the only ones whose name is also a mission, an inspiration and obligation." Durkan, the first openly Gay U.S. attorney, said being openly Gay can help "change hearts and minds" to make progress on LGBT issues. She said studies and experience both show "the number-one thing" that can change a person's views of the LGBT community is knowing an LGBT person. "It takes acts of courage to come out to your family, to your friends, to your co-workers, but those acts of courage speak volumes," she said. "It's the single easiest thing that anyone of us can do to achieve equality." Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who has advocated delaying DADT repeal, did not hold a Pride event for Defense Department employees and did not give a speech for the occasion. While military personnel cannot be open about their sexuality, civilian employees of the defense Department can be, and are covered by the same anti-discrimination rules as other federal employees. |
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