“My Administration is a proud partner in the journey toward LGBT equality,” President Obama says in his annual proclamation to celebrate June as pride month. Read the full statement below:
For more than two centuries, our Nation has struggled to transform the ideals of liberty and equality from founding promise into lasting reality. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans and their allies have been hard at work on the next great chapter of that history — from the patrons of The Stonewall Inn who sparked a movement to service members who can finally be honest about who they love to brave young people who come out and speak out every day.
This year, we celebrate LGBT Pride Month at a moment of great hope and progress, recognizing that more needs to be done. Support for LGBT equality is growing, led by a generation which understands that, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” In the past year, for the first time, voters in multiple States affirmed marriage equality for same-sex couples. State and local governments have taken important steps to provide much-needed protections for transgender Americans.
My Administration is a proud partner in the journey toward LGBT equality. We extended hate crimes protections to include attacks based on sexual orientation or gender identity and repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” We lifted the HIV entry ban and ensured hospital visitation rights for LGBT patients. Together, we have investigated and addressed pervasive bullying faced by LGBT students, prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Federal housing, and extended benefits for same-sex domestic partners. Earlier this year, I signed a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in the implementation of any VAWA-funded program. And because LGBT rights are human rights, my Administration is implementing the first-ever Federal strategy to advance equality for LGBT people around the world.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
We have witnessed real and lasting change, but our work is not complete. I continue to support a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act, as well as the Respect for Marriage Act. My Administration continues to implement the Affordable Care Act, which beginning in 2014, prohibits insurers from denying coverage to consumers based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which addresses the disparate impact of the HIV epidemic among certain LGBT sub-communities. We have a long way to go, but if we continue on this path together, I am confident that one day soon, from coast to coast, all of our young people will look to the future with the same sense of promise and possibility. I am confident because I have seen the talent, passion, and commitment of LGBT advocates and their allies, and I know that when voices are joined in common purpose, they cannot be stopped.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2013 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
BARACK OBAMA
Dakotahgeo
If anybody had told me in 1974 how much would change in the ensuing years until now, I would have told them they were crazy! We hadn’t even imagined Marriage Equality! How heartwarming and refreshing it is to see where we are today! DADT, accomplished! BSA hypocrisy for the young Boy Scouts, gone! Soon to be gone in the BSA, bigoted rules against GLBT Scout leaders; DOMA, soon to be history; Prop 8, soon to be in CA’s hands again; ENDA moving closer to becoming law; 12 States, and Washington, DC (Can you imagine??? and more to come); Former social conservative anchors/linchpins, changed and supportive. The minority of bigots keeps getting smaller and smaller. And they are fearful. God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Guidance Counselor… they are happy! So be it!
Dakotahgeo, M.Div. Pastor/Chaplain
balehead
Obama is another “partner” who shows up late for dinner…but keeps all the desert for himself!….
Randall
My favorite president of all time!! President Obama has done more for equal rights than any president in history and this will become part of his great legacy!! I voted for him twice and he definitely has not let me down!!
Dakotahgeo
@Randall: I can only agree wholeheartedly 100% with you. While others have talked a truly awesome talk. President Obama, with the wild constraints of his detractors, has talked AND walked a truly remarkable talk. As a President, he is going to be very difficult to beat, by any standards! The social conservative/GOP? They have no standards, direction, or common sense. Give them their bottle, tuck ’em in, and they seem to be content!
dvlaries
Thank GOD Romney lost!
*
Say, here’s what always cheers every time there’s a little minor setback now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqUXZCgYMuQ
dvlaries
Make it fun – count all the black faces and rainbow flags you can find….
dhuiz23
While Obama’s record is better than previous Presidents, he’s failed us by not signing an executive order saying that companies that do business with the federal government cannot discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity and not fighting for binational gay couples in the immigration bill.
Cagnazzo82
@balehead: By late for dinner, you mean shows up first for dinner.
There is no other president in the history of America who’s done more for gay rights.
Furthermore, the alternative was explicitly against gay rights. Both McCain and Romney.
But of course you’ve been spoiled now so you get to complain.
Same with dhuiz33. ‘Obama’s record is better than previous presidents’? WRONG
Obama’s record is better than EVERY – SINGLE – PREVIOUS – PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!
Stop nitpicking and appreciate what you got.
balehead
He was just in the right place at the right time….any president not making concessions would have cost his party big time in 2012 to stay in office….he’s still more “pro-vote” than pro-gay…..Is he still attending those “prayer breakfasts?’……
balehead
Plus I’m a masculine gay and naturally I would demand more from the govt concerning our rights…not the crumbs that effeminate gays always cause to happen…..
Ronbo
It was Biden who forced Obama’s hand. It was Pelosi who pushed repeal of DADT – over Obama’s objections. And yes, it was Obama who finally semi-supported us AFTER being painted into a corner.
Obama’s words have been supportive. His actions have been thin. Consider his many (none) executive orders… for ENDA, federal contractors, etc… Even thru last week, Obama had the opportunity to publicly support equality, yet he chose to not say a word in public in support of IL marriage equality. Take off those rose-colored glasses.
If you can’t see the difference between words and deeds, then “Yes, we Can” see that Obama has been great. /snark