Obama agenda pushes gay rights
US President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team has released his six-point plan to protect civil rights for gay and lesbian Americans.
He wants workplace anti-discrimination laws and hate crimes statutes expanded to include sexual orientation, more than 10 years after the murder of Matthew Shepard.
He will also push to overturn the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell ban on gays serving in the military, the Defense of Marriage Act, bids for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, and gay adoption bans.
While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do, Obama said early in the campaign, and included gay Americans in his acceptance speech on 4 November.
His agenda requires the consent of the Democrat-controlled Congress, but if successful more than 1100 federal legal rights available only to heterosexual married couples would be extended to all legally recognised unions, including same-sex marriages and civil unions.
Gay and lesbian activists are now encouraging US citizens to send postcards to the President-elect’s transition office encouraging Obama to keep his promises.
This comes as the marriage equality protests gather steam across the United States in response to California’s Proposition 8 ban. The Join The Impact rallies have attracted tens of thousands of protesters in major cities, with further plans for rallies on the 10th of each month.
info: Join The Impact organisers are encouraging marriage equality protests around the world. Details at www.jointheimpact.com.
US President-elect Barack Obama included gay Americans in his acceptance speech.
