President-Elect
Barack Obama became the first to mention gays in his
acceptance speech last night, as three marriage amendments
across the country passed, restricting the rights of
LGBT citizens.
President-Elect
Barack Obama became the first to mention gays in his
acceptance speech last night, as three marriage amendments
across the country passed, restricting the rights of
LGBT citizens.
"It’s the
answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and
Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American,
gay, straight, disabled and not disabled –
Americans who sent a message to the world that we have
never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we
are, and always will be, the United States of America," he
said Tuesday night before a crowd of more than 100,000
at Chicago's Grant Park.
Obama spoke of
106-year-old Ann Nixon Cooper, who was born to former
slaves during a time that she could not vote as a woman or
had no protections to vote as an African-American.
"She was born
just a generation past slavery; a time when there were
no cars on the road or planes in the sky, when someone like
her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she
was a woman and because of the color of her skin,"
Obama said. "And tonight, I think about all that
she’s seen throughout her century in America -- the
heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress;
the times we were told that we can't, and the people
who pressed on with that American creed: Yes, we can."
Obama's speech
followed Republican nominee John McCain's graceful
concession speech, delivered to a crowd of disappointed
supporters. He praised his running mate, Alaska
Governor Sarah Palin, who fought back tears standing
next to McCain.
"This is an
historic election," McCain said to a crowd at the
Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix. I recognize the special
significance it has for African-Americans, for the
special pride that must be theirs tonight," McCain
said of the nation's first black president. "I've
always believed that America offers opportunities to all who
have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama
believes that, too." (Michelle Garcia, The
Advocate)
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