Via 365gay: Obama inches toward gay agenda

(Washington) President Barack Obama is chipping away at his long list of promises to gay voters but has yet to earn the enthusiastic backing of the reliably Democratic voting bloc.

The Obama White House has accomplished more than any other on gay rights, yet has drawn sharp criticism from an unexpected constituency: the same gay activists who backed the president’s election campaign. Instead of the sweeping change gays and lesbians had sought, a piece-by-piece approach has been the administration’s favored strategy, drawing neither serious fire from conservatives nor lavish praise from activists.

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Via JMG: Hillary's Deputy Eric Schwartz On Improving LGBT Asylum Requests

U.S. Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Eric Schwartz, spoke today about the State Department's attempts to improve the handling of asylum requests by LGBT refugees. Schwartz was speaking at the State Department's LGBT Pride Month reception and this video was posted to their official YouTube channel.



RELATED: Good As You has Secretary Clinton's Pride Month message. An excerpt:

Think about what’s happening to people as we speak today. Men and women are harassed, beaten, subjected to sexual violence, even killed, because of who they are and whom they love. Some are driven from their homes or countries, and many who become refugees confront new threats in their countries of asylum. In some places, violence against the LGBT community is permitted by law and inflamed by public calls to violence; in others, it persists insidiously behind closed doors. These dangers are not “gay” issues. This is a human rights issue. (Applause.) 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, well, let me say today that human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights, once and for all. (Applause.)

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Openly Gay NBC Anchor Thomas Roberts: I Was Never On The Down-Low

In a discussion about the FDA ban on gay blood donations on today's episode of The View, guest moderator D.L. Hughley brought up the issue of black men on the down-low, prompting openly gay NBC anchor Thomas Roberts to reveal that he didn't come out until the age of 27, but never dated men and women at the same time. In 2005 Roberts testified against the priest who had molested him a boy, helping send the man to prison.

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Ten Year-Old Will Phillips To Be Grand Marshal Of Arkansas Pride

Ten year-old Will Phillips, who made national news last year when he refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance until LGBT people have full equality, will be the Grand Marshal of Northwest Arkansas Pride.

"It's wrong for anyone to be treated differently just because of the way they are born," said Phillips, who declares himself as an ambassador for equal rights. Will's name may sound familiar because he was the West Fork student who decided not to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance this past fall. Will said he didn't stand because not everyone is being treated equal. He will be the parade's youngest grand marshal ever, but he said age shouldn't make a difference. "Because I'm a person, I may be 10, but I'm a person," said Will. The parade is put on by NMA Pride. They said they are aware Will's age could be an issue, but he's no ordinary 10-year-old. "He's literally the last half of the year been all over the country and spoken to thousands of people," said Jay Phillips, Will's father. NWA Pride also said they market their parade a little differently than some of the other pride parades around the country. "We're not San Francisco, New York, we're pretty much a family affair, so it's pretty safe to be there," said Joney Harper, creator of NWA Pride.

Will's parents are taking a bit of a beating in the comments of the linked newspaper story. Give them a little support if you have a minute.

(Tipped by JMG reader Mark) reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Feds To Expand Leave Policy To Include Caring For Kids Of Same-Sex Partners

Federal employees will soon be allowed to take medical leave to care for the kids of their same-sex partners.

The policy will be set forth in a ruling to be issued Wednesday by the Labor Department’s wage and hour division, the officials said. Under a 1993 law, people who work for a company with 50 or more employees are generally entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn or for a spouse, son or daughter with “a serious health condition.” The new ruling indicates that an employee in a same-sex relationship can qualify for leave to care for the child of his or her partner, even if the worker has not legally adopted the child. The ruling, in a formal opinion letter, tackles a question not explicitly addressed in the 1993 law. It is one of many actions taken by the Obama administration to respond to the concerns of gay men and lesbians within the constraints of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman as husband and wife

The new policy was developed with the help of the Human Rights Campaign.reposted from Joe