GMHC endorses President Obama

Written by Sean Cahill and Sabina Ibarolla at GMHC, they cite quite a few of Obama’s accomplishments for the LGBT community.  My .02 cents after the quotes.

From their press release:

In terms of HIV/AIDS, January 2010 saw the repeal of the HIV travel and immigration ban, lifting a 22-year prohibition on HIV-positive visitors entering the US for any reason. Also in 2010, the White House Office of National AIDS Policy released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which aims to reduce new infections, increase access to care, and reduce health disparities, with a focus on African Americans (half of new infections) and gay men (more than half of new infections). This spring, the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator at the U.S. State Department issued field guidance for HIV prevention among men who have sex with men (MSM), which also includes language addressing the needs of transgender people.

In more general LGBT policy, the Department of Education provided some funding for anti-bullying/harassment education in response to the suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi last year.

The President has issued Executive Orders giving domestic partner benefits to civilian federal employees, and granting hospital visitation rights for same-sex partners. Early this year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed guidelines prohibiting housing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and mandated that HUD programs (including government-backed mortgages and public housing) not discriminate against LGBT families (broadening the definition of “family” to include same-sex partners and their children). The State Department changed forms for passports from “Mother and Father” to “Mother/Parent 1 and Father/Parent 2,” and has amended policy guidelines for changing one’s sex on a passport.

Most recently, the Institute of Medicine released a report about LGBT health disparities and research gaps, commissioned by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  The report, written by leading LGBT health researchers, recommended that “to advance understanding of the health needs of all LGBT individuals, researchers need more data about the demographics of these populations, improved methods for collecting and analyzing data, and an increased participation of sexual and gender minorities in research.”

Also, in June the Obama Administration released its health prevention strategy, which prioritizes the reduction of LGBT health disparities, such as higher rates of breast and ovarian cancer among lesbians. This strategy is a key element of health care reform that will end insurance company discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions, including HIV. However, Republicans in Congress and in many states have made clear they will try to prevent implementation of the Affordable Health Care Act. Progressives will have to push hard to ensure health reform is implemented.

Granted, there are still plenty of issues where we have yet to see necessary improvements–notably, marriage equality, immigration equality for bi-national couples, and resources for LGBT youth and homeless populations. It’s also important to recognize that most of the advances detailed above were made under the 111th Congress (2009-2010), led by Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Under the current 112th Congress, with its Republican-controlled House, progressive legislation has by and large ground to a halt. The future is uncertain for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit discrimination in hiring or firing based on sexual orientation and gender identity. We can also anticipate that this Congress might attempt to resurrect funding for abstinence-only sex education.  President Obama can potentially still accomplish quite a bit through Executive Orders and the bully pulpit, but the current climate illustrates the critical importance of elections.

Jean at The New Gay also provides a strong argument:

Here are just a few of the candidates who will specifically aim to fight against LGBT rights.

Michele Bachman – Defending marriage is on Bachmann’s list of priorities.  She also believes schools should teachintelligent design because “there is reasonable doubt on both sides” of the evolution argument. Is there?

Herman Cain is against legalizing same sex marriage, supports DOMA and believes homosexuality is sinful and a choice.

Tim Pawlenty believes marriage to be between a man and a woman and supports DOMA.

Mitt Romney has famously gone sort of back and forth on gay issues, and currently doesn’t state any specific opinions on his campaign website, but it’s easy to imagine that he would stand behind DOMA and other laws in order to keep a conservative base happy.  Kathy Belge at About.com has a summary of his record on gay marriage.

Newt Gingrich might not be as hard line on gay issues anymore, but in 2010 he donated 1/3 of the $850,000 raised by antigay groups to boot the Iowa Supreme Court Justices who ruled for gay marriage out of office.

And these folks are just the tip of the iceberg.

For those of you who are uncertain about the effectiveness of Barack Obama’s presidency, I hate to tell you that supporting his reelection is your only option. Moderate is not even a word can be used appropriately about LGBTQ issues in politics these days. “Not extremely conservative” is about as good as it gets.

I refuse to prescribe to the notion being hoisted by others that because Obama has not explicitly said he endorses gay marriage that every other accomplishment he’s gotten for the LGBT community is null and void.  That is where I call bullshit, he’s done plenty, and in the first two years of his term.  Not four years, two.  Anyone who’s convinced that Obama absolutely HAS to endorse gay marriage before the election is a fool, without any understanding of politics.  To do so is to give the opposition everything they need to take the White House away from democratic occupancy.  If you think we have it bad now with a republican controlled House, just let them get Pennsylvania avenue too.  I’d also bet if they got the White House, retaking the senate would also go and then they’ll have a trifecta.

You can’t point to a single accomplishment in the Bush administration for the community, can you?  If any of the Republican frontrunners (or God forbid Michele Bachman) got anywhere near the White House I would bet my last dollar they’ll move heaven and earth to repeal every single thing we’ve gotten under Obama.  If they get their way, they’ll blow us all back to the days before Stonewall in terms of rights.

Is he perfect?  Oh, hell no.  But given the fact that he took on DADT right out of the gate, do you seriously think he’s going to completely thumb his nose at gay marriage?  What is going to say?  ”Hey, I got rid of DADT didn’t I?  Don’t get greedy.”

Think about this, too.  While everybody is asking the question, “where are you on gay marriage?” nobody is asking the question “IF the LGBT community got you back into the White House for another four years what can they expect you to do for them?”  Just ponder that one for a while, because nobody can tell me that Obama has no idea of the mess he inherited when it comes to LGBT rights and equality.

Can we afford for him to lose?  Some people might be willing to risk going back to the kiddie table for another four years, but I’m not.

 

 

 

 

 

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