HRC Announces Endorsement of Steve Pougnet for Congress

Presidential Proclamation--Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month

LGBT Americans have enriched and strengthened the fabric of our national life.  From business leaders and professors to athletes and first responders, LGBT individuals have achieved success and prominence in every discipline.  They are our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters, and our friends and neighbors.  Across my Administration, openly LGBT employees are serving at every level.  Thanks to those who came before us    the brave men and women who marched, stood up to injustice, and brought change through acts of compassion or defiance    we have made enormous progress and continue to strive for a more perfect union.

My Administration has advanced our journey by signing into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which strengthens Federal protections against crimes based on gender identity or sexual orientation.  We renewed the Ryan White CARE Act, which provides life saving medical services and support to Americans living with HIV/AIDS, and finally eliminated the HIV entry ban.  I also signed a Presidential Memorandum directing hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds to give LGBT patients the compassion and security they deserve in their time of need, including the ability to choose someone other than an immediate family member to visit them and make medical decisions.

In other areas, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a series of proposals to ensure core housing programs are open to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.  HUD also announced the first ever national study of discrimination against members of the LGBT community in the rental and sale of housing.  Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services has created a National Resource Center for LGBT Elders.

Much work remains to fulfill our Nation's promise of equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.  That is why we must give committed gay couples the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple, and repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.  We must protect the rights of LGBT families by securing their adoption rights, ending employment discrimination against LGBT Americans, and ensuring Federal employees receive equal benefits.  We must create safer schools so all our children may learn in a supportive environment.  I am also committed to ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" so patriotic LGBT Americans can serve openly in our military, and I am working with the Congress and our military leadership to accomplish that goal.

As we honor the LGBT Americans who have given so much to our Nation, let us remember that if one of us is unable to realize full equality, we all fall short of our founding principles.  Our Nation draws its strength from our diversity, with each of us contributing to the greater whole.  By affirming these rights and values, each American benefits from the further advancement of liberty and justice for all.

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 2010 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.  I call upon all Americans to observe this month by fighting prejudice and discrimination in their own lives and everywhere it exists.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

Annise Parker elected Mayor of Houston with help from Stonewall Democrats Chapters

Statement from Michael Mitchell, Executive Director, National Stonewall Democrats PAC:

"When National Stonewall Democrats PAC endorsed Annise Parker, I said that the choice for pro-equality voters in Houston was an easy one. Annise was the most qualified candidate in the race and had years of dedicated service to the fine people of Houston under her belt. Her election today makes Houston the largest city in the country to be governed by an out LGBT person -- and is another reminder to people across America that being authentic with one's constituents is a winning strategy.

"I'm proud that Annise's historic win comes, in part, thanks to the work of the Houston Area Stonewall Democrats, Stonewall Democrats of Dallas, Dallas Stonewall Young Democrats, the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio and Stonewall Democrats across the country who opened their wallets and spent time phonebanking. Elections are won with the hard work of knocking on doors, picking up the phone and talking with neighbors about the common good. In a campaign that turned ugly in the days leading up to today, the politics of possibility prevailed over the politics of fear.

"The strength of the Stonewall Democrats is that we're a chapter-based organization of committed party activists who work hard to elect pro-equality Democrats. The unique benefit of our network is that we're able to connect eager and experienced volunteers from New York and Oklahoma, DC and California, to a race in need of volunteers in Houston, Texas.

"Look forward to us doing much more of this kind of work in the year to come."

With more than 120 local chapters, National Stonewall Democrats is the nation's organization of LGBT and allied Democrats. Stonewall Democrats works to elect pro-equality Democrats to public office, and hold them accountable to advance the policies important to pro-equality Americans.

Lambda Legal "Enormously Proud" of Simone Bell, Lambda Legal Community Educator, Elected to Georgia State Assembly

Atlanta, GA - Lambda Legal congratulates Simone Bell, Lambda Legal staff member, who was elected Tuesday to be Assemblywoman for Georgia House District 58.

"We are enormously proud of Simone and her dedication to public service and social justice. She is a genuine leader who will represent her constituents well," said Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director of Lambda Legal. "Many former Lambda Legal staff members have moved on to become judges or work in government at all levels, but Simone is our first staff member to be elected to a state legislature."