Thursday, September 02, 2010

The state of Equality


In 2008, President Barack Obama secured the LGBT vote, promising full equality for the community. Two years later, many are critical of the pace of change. This month on IN THE LIFE, we ask if the man in the White House is an advocate for gay rights, and service members talk to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) about ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’

President Obama’s inauguration marked more than one historic first; our first Black President is also the first American President to publicly identify as an ally of the LGBT community. In his two years in office, Obama has signed presidential memorandums expanding federal benefits to same-sex partners and extended federal protections to LGBT victims of hate crimes. But so far, his administration has not fulfilled the change he promised on key issues like The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), The Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ In response to growing frustration, some new LGBT rights groups are using aggressive tactics to push for full equality.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is leading the charge in the Senate to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ She recently came to
IN THE LIFE to hear from two service members discharged under the policy: David Hall, a former officer cadet in the Air Force and Julianne Sohn, a former Marine officer who served in Iraq.

Watch the full program here.

Crush du Jour: Aaron Kuban

5 comments:

Leon Koh said...

I am back to your blog for a read.. just to drop by to mention a hello :)


Leon Koh
Your reader
my blog : http://hanleong.blogspot.com

Jim said...

Good for Senator Gillibrand! I think it's just a matter of time for the entire country to be 'told' that all this anti gay politics is unconstitutional. Be patient. We were in Canada (patient that is) and we have full rights now.

Mark, I agree with you on being 'landlocked'. ...couldn't stand it!

anne marie in philly said...

look at the soulful eyes on today's crush...he is begging me to "treat him right"...I would LOVE to, cutie boy!

Anonymous said...

Solomese saying that the protests aren't worth it can suck it!

We need to let the politicans know that we're not playing. And face it, any rights we've gotten have come about through the courts.

behrmark said...

I really hate to be a spoil sport to your blog but in 2008 Barak Obama was NOT president...he took his oath of office in January 2009. He has not been in office for two years - that will happen in January 2011. In his defense, the GLBT community is not the only issue that has crossed his desk. The economy, Iraq, and Afghanistan have also occupied his time. I personally say give the guy a break. But maybe that's because I have no desire to serve in the armed forces and no one is breaking down my door to marry me.