Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News

Joel Hastings, Board, Log Cabin Republicans, discusses the position of gays and lesbians within the Republican party.

00:50

 

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Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News

Joel Hastings, Board, Log Cabin Republicans, feels Republican party could be more moderate.

00:50

 

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Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News

Peter Hankwitz, Former GOP congressional candidate, member Republican Leadership Council, Log Cabin Republican, talks about getting GOP “back on track.”

01:05

 

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Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News

Peter Hankwitz, Former GOP congressional candidate, member Republican Leadership Council, on how important it has been to him to be able to marry his husband.

00:51

 

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Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News

Peter Hankwitz, Former GOP congressional candidate, member Republican Leadership Council, Log Cabin Republican talks about being an openly gay Republican candidate.

00:30

 

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Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News

Joel Hastings, Board, Log Cabin Republicans
on same sex marriage.

00:59

 

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by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico

Since 1878, families have participated in the official White House Easter Egg Roll event, but this year another community of families were invited.

Some 30,000 guests were expected to attend the event and this is the first time in Egg Roll history that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) families have been invited.

Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director of the Family Equality Council, said she was thrilled when she received the invitation from the White House.  

“The outreach on President Obama and First Lady Obama’s behalf to gay and lesbian families was very meaningful and very important symbolism of this White House and its belief that all kinds of families should be valued in this country… We are very, very grateful,” Chrisler said. “We as parents, as gay parents, do all the same things that other parents do. We worry about getting our kids to school safely, about being good participants in our community, paying our taxes and to have a president that actually affirms us as families really helps when we face those hurdles that we face from time to time,” Chrisler said.

Cathy Renna, a member of the Family Equality Council, said she has been going to this event for several years but that this year it felt different. The FEC works to ensure equality for LGBT families by building community, changing hearts and minds, and advancing social justice for all families.

“It looked a lot more like America this year,” said Renna. “This represents a shift both symbolically and hopefully in a policy way in the way that will be treated in this country. There’s clearly a tremendous amount of hope that we’ll pass hate crimes legislation, that we’ll pass employment non-discrimination legislation at the federal level…. There’s just a very different sense of dialogue and relationship that we haven’t had in a very long time,” said Renna.

In a conference call today, the Human Rights Campaign spoke about Senator John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) record of opposing the interests of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) Americans. While McCain touts himself as a maverick and independent, a uniter not a divider, his record with the GLBT community shows that he will be a strong opponent of their issues, said David Smith, vice president for HRC.

McCain has promised to act and vote against civil rights for GLBT’s in the community at home and at work, said Lara Schwartz HRC legal director. McCain has said in no uncertain terms that he opposes same sex marriage, supports the defensive marriage act, and opposes same sex partners adopting children, according to Schwartz. Many concerns of the HRC are about working discrimination, and John McCain opposed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which prohibits employment discrimination on employees based on sexual oreintation.

Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona State legislator, said that McCain has shifted his views and in 1994 stated support of the gay community but has back away from that stance. In 2006, McCain was the face of a campaign using television commercials and mailing pamphlets to ban same sex marriage from the Arizona state constitution, which refused minimal legal protection like health benefits and rights to visit in hospitals from the gay community. All in all, McCain would not be supportive of the civil rights of the GLBT, despite his claim of being independent, said Sinema. (12:01)

 

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This morning the Gay, Lesbian, Allied Senate Staff (GLASS) Caucus held a forum on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender/transsexual (LGBT) public policy agenda at the Russell Senate Office building.

Participants at the forum included both Democrats and Republicans, with a fully engaged crowd consisting of equally diverse members. Black and white, male and female, many people came out to discuss the future of gay rights.

The caucus focused on uniting its often philosophically different participants. Issues covered included the HIV/AIDS epidemic, hate crimes, and the forthcoming presidential election. “We are a truly united LGBT community,” said hopeful public policy advocate David Stacy. As the forum concluded, messages such as these suggest a hopeful future for the LGBT.