Obama still doesn’t support full equality, but we got a White House LGBT webpage

It's called "Winning the Future: President Obama and the LGBT Community":

Since taking office, the President has demonstrated that his vision for a brighter future includes greater equality for LGBT Americans. The President and his Administration are dedicated to eliminating barriers to equality, fighting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and engaging LGBT communities across the country.

This site is a tool for you to learn about how President Obama and his team are working to win the future for LGBT Americans.

We'll actually win the future when we have full equality -- not just "greater equality." It's 2011 for Christ sakes. Supporting full equality isn't a lot to ask from a "fierce advocate," especially when a majority of Americans are already there. But, as it stands, the President doesn't support full equality. He's still opposed to marriage, although, as we've noted many times, he claims to be "evolving."

Between the HRC way-too-early endorsement, yesterday's proclamation and today's website news, we're looking at a pretty concentrated campaign to convince us that Obama is the greatest President ever on LGBT issues. Yes, he's done a lot. But, let's be honest: the President is behind the trendline when it comes to marriage. He knows it. His White House staffers know it, especially the LGBT staffers. HRC knows it. I bet even campaign manager Jim Messina knows it. So, it's great that we have a webpage. But, again, it's 2011. I'm not going to get too excited about being treated with dignity and respect. We should have this. And, the President needs to help the arc of the moral universe bend towards justice. Full justice, not just "greater equality." Read the rest of this post...

The San Francisco Giants say "It Gets Better"

Glad to see more positive messengers from sports world. Their message may just resonate where others don't:

Dan Savage and his Husband in Canada/Boyfriend In America, Terry Miller, brought their "It Gets Better" book tour to Google. There's a video here. It's long (just under 45 minutes), but definitely worth watching Dan explain how he conceived of the idea of "It Gets Better." Read the rest of this post...

SLDN wants DADT certification done this month

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 1, 2011

SLDN Releases Statement on White House Pride Proclamation

Sarvis: "Mr. President, let's get certification done this month."

(Washington, D.C.) In response to President Obama's proclamation of June as LGBT Pride Month, Army Veteran and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis today released the following statement, renewing his call on the White House to ensure swift certification under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal law.

"At SLDN, we commend the President for his recognition of June as LGBT Pride Month, and we join him in promoting equality for all Americans, including our nation's service members. Unfortunately, it's difficult to explain - much less defend - that we are approaching six months since the President signed repeal legislation, and gay and lesbian service members are still without certification, still being investigated under 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' and still at risk of being discharged. Meanwhile, our opponents continue their attempts to exploit this vacuum as an opportunity to delay and derail repeal, and service members are required to serve in silence. Mr. President, let's get certification done this month."

Read the rest of this post...

Pics from Cook County Clerk's office in Chicago as civil unions commence in Illinois

Yeah, for my home! Read the rest of this post...

Civil union licenses are being issued in Illinois today: "It’s historic"

Big day in Illinois. Same-sex couples can now obtain legal protections from the state through the new civil unions law. Still not full equality, but a step in the right direction:

Illinois has issued its first civil union license, launching a historic day for same-sex couples across the state.

Janean Watkins and Lakeesha Harris camped overnight outside the Daley Center to be the first in line as the state's new civil unions law kicked in.

"It's historic," said Watkins, who has been with Harris for 10 years. "We wanted to be first. We wanted to make a statement. For us, for our kids. It really means something."

The couple has six children who will all be in attendance at a formal civil union ceremony tomorrow.

Watkins and Harris were followed by more than 100 other couples who arrived early to get licenses.

Congrats to all those (same-sex and straight) couples who are getting civil unions.

And, there's an excellent explanation of what the new civil unions law does -- and doesn't do -- for same-sex couples at 10,000 Couples. It's written by Jill Metz, who is President of the Board of the ACLU of Illinois. Here's how it concludes:

Civil unions are not a magic wand that will remove all prejudice and discrimination. Nor do the laws that apply to civil unioned couples provide the most comprehensive legal protections. They only provide some safety net. Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, pre-nuptial agreements, post-nuptial agreements, and second parent adoptions provide the most comprehensive legal protections, even for people in a civil union.

That said, civil unions are a huge and important step in protections and toward ending prejudice and discrimination.

Read the rest of this post...

Obama still doesn’t support marriage equality, but Happy Pride Month

President Obama still hasn't evolved on marriage yet. You may recall that Obama first told me he was "evolving" on the marriage issue back on October 27, 2010. Well, he's still not there. Mediaite's Tommy Christopher asked Jay Carney about it yesterday:

All is not lost. Yesterday, the President did "proclaim June 2011 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month." But, funny thing (or not), the Proclamation doesn't mention anything about marriage or even civil unions -- it did in previous years. MetroWeekly's Chris Geidner reported on this finding:

There is no mention of relationship recognition, despite the fact that on Feb. 23, Attorney General Eric Holder, announced that the president had determined that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. The Department of Justice subsequently ended its defense of that portion of the law in ongoing court challenges.

By comparison, in the 2010 proclamation, Obama stated, "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."

In the 2009 proclamation, meanwhile, Obama stated, "Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include ... supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples ...."

Huh. That's odd.

It's 2011. Evolve already.

The White House -- and the Obama campaign, led by Jim Messina -- should know by now that marriage equality is one of the biggest unresolved issues facing this presidency. The President is behind the curve and getting further behind every day. He knows which way the trendline is moving. He told me that during our October 2010 meeting. The White House and Obama 2012 are making a political calculation here. Of course, HRC didn't help by jumping out with its early endorsement without a commitment on marriage. Messina must have called and yelled at someone over there to make it happen so soon (that's has happened before and apparently had an impact.)

As Mediate's Tommy Christopher noted:

President Obama eloquently tried to reassure bullying victims that it gets better. I agree, and do you know when it gets better, at least a little bit? When the President of the United States finally says that they are equal human beings.

Yeah. We're waiting.

NOTE FROM JOHN: It's almost as if the bigots have evolved more on marriage than the President himself. Read the rest of this post...