i got an email today from Rea Carey, the director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, asking, "If you had a chance to talk to the President, what would you say?" apparently she is going to meet with President Obama next week to mark the 40th anniversary of Stonewall, and she wants to take the stories of LGBTQ people with her. the email included a link to a form to send her your story or questions.
i don't have a story for Mr. Obama, but i sure have a hell of a lot of questions.
Mr. President, when are you going to keep the promises you made to the millions of LGBTQ Americans who voted for you in November? When are you going to stop doing damage control and start working for real change, repealing the discriminatory laws that prevent us from receiving all the same rights and benefits as our heterosexual peers, instead of promising us a few in apology? How could you stand in support of DOMA, knowing that its repeal would not automatically or even necessarily guarantee legal marriage for same-sex couples? How could you believe that advocating for civil unions is advocating full equality, when you must know the fallacy of "separate but equal"? When are you going to tell Congress to pass an inclusive ENDA so you can sign it and protect all Americans from employment discrimination? When are you going to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, so that we can freely consider all of our options for education and employment, without having to worry about what happens if...? When are you going to stand up and acknowledge that all civil rights belong to all people, and no one should face discrimination based on whom they love?
Mr. Obama, I am proud to be American, and I am proud to be gay, and I am proud that you were the first person I voted for in a Presidential election. I truly believe that you have the potential to bring necessary and important change to our nation. I want to continue being proud of someone I really feel is my President. When are you going to live up to our expectations and earn our votes?
1 comment:
I hope you sent this.
These are the questions that so many people within the LGBTQ community are asking. It's often difficult for politicians to act on their campaign promises as quickly as their supporters would like, but sooner or later, they do need to act. In the meantime, it is confusing and disheartening to see Obama leave so many of these questions completely unanswered.
~B.
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