By John Riley on June 25, 2015 @JRileyMW
President Barack Obama ticked off a laundry list of LGBT achievements by his administration during last night’s White House Pride Month reception. However, not everyone was enthusiastic to hear the president speak.
As the president began his introduction, a transgender woman interrupted him, shouting, “President Obama, release all LGBTQ immigrants from detention and stop all deportations.” She continued shouting as the president tried to resume his speech.
“No, no, no, no, no. Hey, listen, you’re in my house,” President Obama finally retorted, as the audience burst into applause. “It’s not respectful when you go into somebody’s house. You’re not going to get a good response from me by interrupting me.”
As the woman continued, the crowd began to boo her, as a second voice from the crowd started yelling, “President Obama!” This prompted the crowd of prominent LGBT invitees to began chanting, “Obama! Obama!” to drown out any further disruptions until the hecklers could be removed from the room. One person even yelled out, “Bye, Felicia!” as she was escorted from the room. The heckler could still be heard outside as she was led away.
The woman was later identified as Jennicet Gutiérrez, in a press release issued by a coalition of radical queer and LGBT immigrant groups.
According to GetEQUAL, the #Not1More campaign and Familia QLTM, Gutiérrez — an undocumented transgender woman from Mexico — said she could not celebrate while some 75 transgender detainees are at higher risk of physical assault and sexual abuse in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody at various detention centers for undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation hearings. Groups such as the National LGBTQ Task Force and 35 members of Congress have previously raised concerns about the detainees’ safety, and have called on the Department of Homeland Security and ICE to release LGBTQ immigrants out of concern for their welfare.
The president later referenced the Gutiérrez disruption, when another person yelled out, “We love you! The transsexuals love you!,” allowing Obama to joke, “That’s the kind of heckling I can accept.”
The reception, which has become an annual event under the Obama administration, was fairly boisterous and in a celebratory mood — with the help of some social lubricant.
The guests at the reception included a “Who’s Who” of both D.C.-based and national LGBT organizations, as well as several local LGBT “power couples” whose jobs range from the legal field to LGBT activism to political consulting to lobbying. Some of the more prominent figures among those present included House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.); Eric Fanning, the first openly gay chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Defense; Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC); Sarah McBride, a transgender activist and research associate for the Center for American Progress; Six transgender members of the pro-LGBT military organization Service Members, Partners, Allies For Respect and Tolerance For All (SPARTA); Martin Garcia of civic engagement nonprofit IMPACT and an officer with the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club; and Sultan Shakir, the executive director of the LGBT youth organization SMYAL.
Calling the cause of LGBT equality “an issue whose time has come,” the president acknowledged the work of LGBT activists and organizations over the years, adding, “Together, we’ve been able to do more to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people than at any time in our history.”
The president reflected on the major LGBT progress achieved under his administration, including:
As the president listed each accomplishment, the raucous crowd interrupted him with cheers and applause. Obama also noted the shift in societal attitudes toward the LGBT community, even among the slow-to-change political class.
“When I became president, same-sex marriage was legal in only two states. Today, it’s legal in 37 states,” Obama said. “A decade ago, politicians ran against LGBT rights. Today, they’re running towards them.”
Looking toward the future, Obama acknowledged the looming specter of a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. Expected in the next few days, they will rule on whether same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He also name-checked several other priorities for the LGBT community that have yet to be acted upon, such as the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), and reiterated his call for banning the practice of conversion therapy or other sexual orientation change efforts on minors.
The president also told those in attendance that they had demonstrated the kind of courage that comes from being true to oneself.
“To a young boy or girl out there struggling with their own identity, the folks in this room are heroes,” Obama said. “They’ve shown extraordinary courage, not only in helping others find the strength to be true to who they are, you’re helping America be true to we are as a nation. And that’s ultimately what this Pride month is supposed to be about.”
By John Riley on January 22, 2025 @JRileyMW
Both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly took a step closer to removing a currently unenforceable ban on same-sex marriage from the Constitution of Virginia in the past week, setting the stage for a showdown at the ballot box in 2026.
On January 14, the House of Delegates voted 58-35 to pass an amendment to prohibit authorities from refusing to issue marriage licenses to "two parties contemplating a lawful marriage" on the basis of the couple's sex, gender, or race. Seven Republicans voted with all the chamber's Democrats in favor of repeal. Five more Republicans did not vote, while two others abstained.
By John Riley on January 12, 2025 @JRileyMW
Idaho Republicans are pushing for a resolution urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its 2015 ruling legalizing marriage equality nationwide.
An Idaho House of Representatives committee will consider a measure from State Rep. Heather Scott (R-Blanchard) that declares the high court's ruling in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges an "illegitimate overreach."
Scott's resolution asks the court to reinstate the "natural definition of marriage," limiting the practice to heterosexual couples only.
For a decade, conservatives have bemoaned the court's decision, which struck down state-level bans on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. They complain that the court imposed a one-size-fits-all approach that promotes a particular ideological view of marriage.
By John Riley on January 23, 2025 @JRileyMW
Just as it did four years ago, the Trump administration has removed nearly all mentions of LGBTQ identity and HIV from the White House website.
Moreover, searches for "lesbian," "gay," and "bisexual" result in an executive order from President Donald Trump reversing various executive orders issued by former President Joe Biden.
A search for "transgender" brings up the same order, as well as a separate order effectively erasing gender identity from law and requiring the federal government to only recognize a person's assigned sex at birth on identity documents, government surveys, and to receive any government benefits.
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