May 15, 2012
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee approved legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, but failed to include critical provisions that would ensure that all victims of domestic violence can access vital services and protections. Victims are victims, and, if you have been battered, stalked or otherwise threatened with violence, you should not be turned away by a shelter or denied the assistance you need merely because the...
May 11, 2012
A quick look at this week on WhiteHouse.gov:
Congratulating the Wildcats: President Obama welcomed the victors of the 2012 NCAA championship – the University of Kentucky Wildcats – to the White House to congratulate them, despite his original skepticism that they’d take the title. “I had them in the championship game...
May 10, 2012
Yesterday, during an interview with ABC News, President Obama said, “I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”
It’s no secret the President has gone through some soul-searching on this issue. He’s talked to the First Lady about it, like so many couples do. He’s heard from folks—gay and lesbian friends, staff members in long-term, loving relationships, as well as brave young servicemen and women he got to know through the...
May 9, 2012
Today, in an interview with ABC News, President Obama said, "I think same sex couples should be able to get married."
With that one statement, he made it clear that he believes that it’s wrong to prevent couples who are in loving, committed relationships from getting married.
Obviously, the President has spent time giving this issue serious...
May 7, 2012
The White House LGBT Conference on Aging will meet today at the University of Miami -- where it will provide advocates, community leaders, and members of the public an opportunity to engage with the Obama Administration on the health, housing, and security needs of aging members of the LGBT community.
You can watch live on the university website, starting at 9:00 AM ET.
April 27, 2012
Art has helped create the America that we know and love today. And at its best, film allows us a window into our own lives and get a chance to see the world through someone else's eyes. One of the heroes of American cinema, Atticus Finch, said that "you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."
That great line is from the classic film "To Kill A...
April 19, 2012
On Wednesday evening, White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew offered remarks at the presentation of the Elie Wiesel Award to Aung San Suu Kyi at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s National Tribute Dinner. In the speech, Lew spoke about his own experience as a young man and the importance of the work that Aung San Suu Kyi and the Museum do.
His full remarks as prepared for delivery are below:
Good evening.
It is an honor for me to join such...
The White House LGBT Conference on HIV/AIDS will provide advocates, community leaders, and members of the public with an opportunity to engage with the Obama Administration on issues related to the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the LGBT community and HIV/AIDS-related health disparities, with a specific focus on the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. You'll be able to watch live here, starting at 8:30 AM ET.
In his video message, President Obama speaks for all Americans who remember the courageous and selfless acts of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. In 2012, Sweden is celebrating the 100thanniversary of the birth of Raoul Wallenberg, a diplomat who chose not to be indifferent and to rise to a higher moral calling. We remember and revere this courageous man whose efforts saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Holocaust. Wallenberg paid with his life for his...
April 17, 2012
Today – Tuesday, April 17 – is Equal Pay Day, which marks the fact that, nearly 50 years since President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the average woman still has to work well into the calendar year to earn what the average man earned last year. According to the latest U.S. Census statistics, on average, full-time working women earned 77 cents to every dollar earned by men, and the gap is significantly more for women of color. This substantial gap...