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the President of the United States!' |
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By Andy Humm
LGNY
The Empire State Pride Agenda hasn't invited me to introduce President
Bill Clinton at their annual dinner October 7 even though I was made an
official Arkansas Traveler by his own self when I spoke at a conference in
Little Rock on gay and lesbian youth back in '91.
Maybe its because when I was covering Vice-President Al Gore at their dinner last year, I despaired toward the end of his speech of any one of those 1,800 fine people raising a hint of criticism of the administration's decidedly mixed record on gay issues and shouted, "What about gays in the military?" Gore actually was applauded for responding, "We've done more on that issue than anybody!" I guess they have thrown more gays and lesbians out of the service than Reagan and Bush combined. Quite an achievement.
"The most obvious thing for me to say right now is that it is an honor to introduce the President of the United States--that I never thought I would live to see the day when the leader of the free world would sit down to dinner with thousands of gay men and lesbians in support of the cause of equal justice without regard to sexual orientation. "We are indeed honored that our highest elected official is standing with us in our cause. It sends a signal to all Americans that our fight is legitimate and just. We hope that it will encourage other leaders--in politics and in the private sector--to speak up on behalf of equal treatment for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people.
"While we are honored to have you with us, Mr. President, we hope that you, too, are honored to be in the presence of hundreds of people for whom coming out in public still carries risks. We look to you for leadership, but we hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity to get to know how we feel about some of the things that you have done as President that have hurt us. "Like many politicians, we hope that you will be impressed by the following poll: "Will all the people in this room who oppose the administration's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy that excludes out gays and lesbians from the military please raise your hands? Let's see. Just about everybody--even the reporters (except from Fox). "The gay and lesbian community is united in demanding that you use your executive power to lift the ban on gays in the armed forces like virtually every other Western democracy. If the Congress overturns you, we ask that you veto any reinstatement of the policy. "Will all the people who support the President's signing of the Defense of Marriage Act please signify by saying 'aye'? Pretty quiet in here. Even you, Mr. President, described this bill as 'gaybashing' prior to signing it in 1996. "If we do not have access to all of society's institutions on an equal basis, we are second class citizens. The refusal to recognize our marriages inflicts grave harm on our relationships with our partners and our children. It prevents us from bringing our foreign-born partners into this country. It makes the United States a human rights laggard. "So, while we welcome you to our dinner and are deeply appreciative of what you and your administration have achieved, we look forward to hearing you finally say that you support full equality for lesbians and gay men--not special rights or privileges, just what every American ought to be entitled to. "Our community was a special source of support for you during your impeachment ordeal. We hope that in the nearly sixteen months that you have left as President, you will work with us to dismantle the last vestiges of official discrimination against gay people by our government. "Brothers and sisters, the President of the United States, Bill Clinton." Courtesy of New York's LGNY newspaper |
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