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Obama Makes Gay History

Sen. Barack Obama accepted his Party's history making nomination for president Thursday night with a speech that was also momentous for its inclusion of gays and lesbians.

By Kerry Eleveld and Sean Kennedy

An Advocate.com exclusive posted August 29, 2008

In his speech Thursday night centered around renewing America’s promise, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama made perhaps the strongest statement of support for gays and lesbians in this country’s political history, rousing a crowd of some 84,000 at Denver’s Invesco Field to cheers and bringing the cause of equality straight into the homes of middle America.

“I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination,” the Illinois senator said on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” address.

The affirmation came as Obama accepted his party’s nomination for president, in a passage where he squarely took on the Republican values triumvirate of God, guns, and gays. He started with a woman’s right to choose. “We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country,” Obama declared. Gun control was next: “The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gun violence in Cleveland, but don’t tell me we can’t uphold the 2nd Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals.” Then came the line about gays, which drew the loudest reaction of the three.

The pointed appeal was intended to bridge the gap between liberals and conservatives, in keeping with the bipartisan spirit of the Obama campaign. His message: Don't let social issues keep you from pulling the lever for me come November, we can find common ground on the most divisive issues of the day.

Obama’s remarks were the culmination of a steady drumbeat of pro-LGBT rhetoric throughout the 2008 Democratic National Convention -- and arguably went a long way towards assuaging the disappointment and frustration felt by many gays over the candidate’s general-election strategy of framing marriage as a union between one man and one woman, a belief he reiterated just two weeks ago at the Saddleback Church forum with his Republican opponent John McCain. Though he’s clearly walking a fine line on LGBT issues -- during the primaries, for instance, Obama specifically avoided the one-man-one-woman phrase with its Christian-right overtones -- the inclusion of gays and lesbians in his call to take back America from George W. Bush and the GOP ranks up there with Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign promise to repeal the ban on gays serving in the military.

However imperfect, the Clinton administration helped usher in greater acceptance of gays and lesbians, bringing many out into the open for the first time in their lives. Will Barack Obama’s potential presidency push beyond that to make LGBT citizens equal partners in the American dream? His powerful speech -- and the crowd’s enthusiastic response -- certainly inspires hope.

Keywords: 2008 Election Barack Obama

Related stories from Advocate.com

2009-01-03: NYT Columnist Calls Out Obama on Warren Selection
2008-12-30: Constructive Impatience
2008-12-19: A Call to Action for Barack Obama
2008-12-18: The Better Angels?
2008-12-16: LGBT Leaders Lobby for Openly Gay Appointees

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Name: DEGRO SAAD
Date posted: 2008-11-16 8:40 PM
Hometown: LONG BEACH

Comment:

AT THE WOMENS CONFERENCE 2008 IN LBC STRONG WOMEN WERE ASK TP EMPOWER THEMSELVES. TO BE SPONTAENEOUS AND TO BE OURSELVES. AS THE SPEECHES FROME GLORIA STEINAM AND CONDELEEZA I, DEBRO SAAD IN DESPERATION STOOD CRTING FOR HELP. WE DONT EAT OR SLEEP ANYMORE AND WE CRY AND PRAY FOR MR OBAMA. I WAS DRUG THRU THE CONVENTION CENTER AND CALLED CLACK BITCHES. I WAS ADMITTED TO THE HUSPITAL AND STAR ARRESTED ALL BECAUSE CORPORATE CORRUPTION SAYS SHES GAY, ITS OK. PLEASE HELP, IM TERMINALLU ILL AND STAR IS A VET, COMP. ENGINEER, AND FRIEND. PRAY FOR US . HATE CRIME COVER UP IS A BAD THING, IT MAKES US NOT WHOLE, AND QUITE FEARFUL. IM THE MOM OF A LESBIAN YES BUT DID SHE DESERVE TO BE BEATEN BECAUSE SHE WOULDNT TELL THE GUY WHETHER SHE WS MALE OR FEMALE? HELP US MR. PRESIDENT ELECT. IM VERY TIRED OF FIGHTING ALONE 5626861002 5199294

Name: debro o. saad
Date posted: 2008-10-13 8:57 AM
Hometown: long beach california

Comment:

please see youtube 711star. d i her mom hve recieved as victims of legal abuse and this is because we are saying no, hel no to hate crimes. as i am terminally ill fighting for star harris, we have been bamboozaled by the legal system and the municipality of long beach calif. this is why hate crimes go unreported, but watch youtube search 711star and see a vicious , brutal attack, on video, still on court docket and still no one has helped this honorable vet, with a b.s. in computer engineering, honors in advanced physics.. she was dx. by social security doctors with ptsd and chronic pud .she passed out in court with the judge tracey moreno grant being tape abusing . need legal advocacy video being ignored still sell the man a 12 pk. . my health is declining, with a jan.23rd. court date approaching.asking for aid prior to sitting by the fireplace of the oval office.. pray for us i have had nooses on my laptop from the commandoclan.... 5626861002 5625199294

Name: Chatalie
Date posted: 2008-10-11 3:37 AM
Hometown: Conroe, TX

Comment:

I am not gay but I support gay rights. I am a black woman in an interracial relationship and like Maria said, 50 years ago there were laws against my relationship. Gay rights are a civil rights issue, in America all people are supposed to be treated equal and have equal rights. I believe that Barack Obama is one candidate that has shown support to the LBGT community, through legislation and actions. Surely you understand that coming out publicly for gay marriage would be political suicide in this country. How could you expect Obama to flat out say that he supports gay marriage. I think actions speak louder than words, and I feel that Obama will support and champion all equality for the LGBT community. Remember, the next president will assign 3 judges to the Supreme court! Think about it.

Name: Keith
Date posted: 2008-09-03 5:05 PM
Hometown: San Francisco

Comment:

Obama does not convince me that he has either the intention or the ability to improve the situation of gays and lesbians in America. That doesn't make me stupid, racist, a Republican or a Hillary supporter. It is because I have watched how he acts and listened to what he's said. I am convinced that he is a homophobe who is trying to get my money and my vote, nothing more. I'm tired of the Advocate, the HRC, Andrew Sullivan, and all the other homo groupies for Obama trying to brainwash me into believing that he has made gay history, that he is going to set me free but he just can't say it out loud, that he's ever done or said anything to help homosexuals which wasn't already in his own best interest. The emperor is naked and the lack of a better alternative isn't going to swath him in Chanel.

Name: Rog
Date posted: 2008-09-02 11:02 PM
Hometown: New York

Comment:

WOW! Most of these comments are just awful, inaccurate, and downright shameful. It’s a sad commentary on our community. Finally, we will have an advocate in the White House who speaks not just to the gay community and believes we deserve to be treated equally in this country, but also speaks to a majority non-gay audience about their need to be more inclusive. Don’t believe the hype, most Americans still need nudging about marriage equality, and I have no doubt a President Obama will give them the good swift kick in the @$$ they need. Let’s be honest, here. Many of you don’t like that Hillary lost and are still holding on, I presume. (Yes, she lost. Please get over it.) And a lot of you are actually Republicans with nothing better to do. Some of it is just old fashioned bigotry (Imagine that in the gay community). But the rest of you, again, are just ignorant-and I fear-are trying to make the rest of us pay for that ignorance.

Name: Mark
Date posted: 2008-08-31 11:50 AM
Hometown: Minneapolois

Comment:

I'm living TODAY with the man I love and our kids. Tell any of us that we should shut up and continue to live without any of the State and Federal rights, benefits and responsibilities that our neighbor's are granted by THE STATE and our FEDERAL GOVERNMENT through marriage. That's some mouth! Tell my boys why they should embrace the stigma that some politicians have created for their family by way of Civil Unions- that's insulting. I'm not threatened by your opinion that is different than mine. I respect and appreciate your right to express it. I experience your ageist and sexist comments as ugly- it bleeds over and diminishes your rationale.

Name: Samuel
Date posted: 2008-08-31 10:17 AM
Hometown: NYC

Comment:

"Just because some of you are bitter about Hillary doesn't mean you have the right to throw away the rights of someone like me, who's only 22 years old and still has a lot of years. Get over it you old bitches. The train is leaving the station, get on it or shut up" Alex The thing about us "old bitches" is that we've been made bitter the hard way, through experience. We've been around the block a time or two. We've learned the hard way not to trust politicians who preach salvation in public but befriend bigots in private. Maybe it's you who should shut up, listen and learn. You are 22, maybe it's just possible (unimaginable for you, I know) but possible, that you are not as smart as you think you are.

Name: Alex
Date posted: 2008-08-31 9:26 AM
Hometown: Los Angeles

Comment:

Wow, I find it amazing there's so many ignorant people within the gay community. This man has a record of standing with the gay community and is in favor of civil unions, extending hate crimes protections for us, extending workplace discrimination laws to protect us, he's in favor of dismantling DOMA and getting rid of don't ask don't tell and passing a law to allow the partners of gay and lesbians to emigrate to this country. Just because some of you are bitter about Hillary doesn't mean you have the right to throw away the rights of someone like me, who's only 22 years old and still has a lot of years. Get over it you old bitches. The train is leaving the station, get on it or shut up.

Name: Marie Stafford
Date posted: 2008-08-30 7:45 PM
Hometown: Atlanta

Comment:

I too want to be treated equally by my Government. It's not a Gay Agenda. It's a civil rights agenda. I'm an American who deserves a leader who doesn't use my human sexuality as a strategy while embracing the language of the oppressors, "one man and one woman" nonsense. Giving Donny McClurkin an international platform to spew more ignorance and hate was certainly a misstep. What's his strategy for EQUAL rights for the homo's to pursue their American dream of happiness and self determination? He'll flip his position, like FISA, gun control, capital punishment, off-shore drilling... when it's politically expedient. Nice! Puff the magic dragon.

Name: CJ Plourde
Date posted: 2008-08-30 5:18 PM
Hometown: Montreal

Comment:

"momentous for its inclusion of gays and lesbians."???? Really? In that speech he stated that he saw marriage as being between a man and a woman. Less is more—or something—for some people, but not for me. I wish that reporters were honest about what they are seeing in this candidate, and tackle the stories around his supposed gay sexual encounters, and issues about black homophobia in the fundamentalist black churches. Candidate Obama's refusal to talk turkey about his encounters with figures like Sinclair and Farrakhan worry me. The media seems to have lost it ability to gather truth, and so too The Advocate appears a bit...unwilling to go there...

Name: Maria Hernandez
Date posted: 2008-08-30 3:05 PM
Hometown: Portland, Oregon

Comment:

That's true, I think it was great that he mentioned gay people in his speech, I"m not gay , but I keep up with gay news from the Advocate . My husband and I disagree on gay marriage, he's 15 years older than I am . I"ve known alot of gay , bi, and trangendered people in my life. I feel that life is too short and too hard to be worrying about what you do in your bedroom . You, if you wish, should have the right to marry whom you choose , and it's none of my business . I"m white and my husband is Mexican from Mexico. I told him 50 years ago in Texas , people wouldn't accept our marriage , and how wrong is that. If you are lucky enough to find someone to love and they love you, then you are indeed blessed , so life, love , and be happy . I love Obama and I plan to vote for him. Mccain is just four more years of Bush.

Name: Thomas Qafzezi
Date posted: 2008-08-30 2:33 PM
Hometown: Miami

Comment:

Pleased that we got an honorable mention in his speech? Yes. Pleased that the crowd applauded fair treatment of our community? Yes. Pleased with how Obama tossed us some crumbs from the table (i.e. visitation rights)? Hell no! I am not angry because it is just more of the same when it comes to gay rights in America. I am disappointed in what continues to be the puritan mindset of our country. I am a 45 year old gay male, married in Canada, with hopes of feeling equal in every facet of my life. I agree with previous comments on learning from other countries who are much older and wiser than our somewhat young heritage. And, if the same opportunities were being afforded to AA there would be righteous indignation to deal with. Perhaps we in the LGBT should try a bit of that. To Obama and Biden, I will vote for you .. but you have to do better than this to get my vote the following election period. You are being watched and notes are being taken.

Name: Mark Thomas
Date posted: 2008-08-30 12:31 PM
Hometown: Wappingers Falls

Comment:

Over the last 8 years the Republican party has engaged in illegal activities while destroying our nation’s economy, federal deficit, military, environment, healthcare system, and educational system. They made oil companies, Halliburton, and fundamentalist Christian religious organizations rich while stacking the federal courts and Supreme Court with activist right wing judges and using gay/lesbian families as scapegoats. Seventy-two-year-old McCain is not mentally or physically fit to lead this nation. His inexperienced Anita Bryant V.P. would be a heartbeat away from President. Despite the lies of the Republican controlled media, Barrack Obama, Joe Biden and all the other Democrats running for office are intelligent, honest, trustworthy, strong individuals with clear, workable solutions to all of our country’s problems, including changing laws to establish full equality for gays/lesbians.

Name: Mark
Date posted: 2008-08-30 10:23 AM
Hometown: Minneapolis

Comment:

Change? Champion of CIVIL rights? Senator Obama could learn much from the leadership and citizens of Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain, CA, MA, and Coquille. As the world moves forward on equal rights for Gay and Lesbian's by way of marriage- the universal institution. Obama stays stuck in the past and seeks refuge behind a second class status that is unequal, has a failed track record, one the community is not asking for, and one that harms are families. Marriage will one day be a right granted to Gay and Lesbian American's. Senator Obama will be remembered for not having the courage, leadership or vision to recognize what many of us already know (especially the youth of the world)- it's wrong and a blatant act of discrimination that he and Michelle can marry and receive all the Federal and State benefits for themselves and their family but not Gay and Lesbian folks. It's basic.

Name: Dan Dickson
Date posted: 2008-08-29 7:00 PM
Hometown: Portland, OR

Comment:

I read the comments to this story, and I can't believe how some of us aren't celebrating this moment a bit more! It's each individuals right to see what they wanted in that speech last night, but as for me and my partner, we were thrilled. This was no platitude he threw at us... Barack Obama intends to celebrate America's diversity, and he sees us as a part of that. And not just him! That crowd of 84,000 people erupted into thunderous applause when he talked about fair treatment for GAYS. It may not be perfect, it may not be everything we all want, but it's more than we've ever been offered by a major political party... and it's authentic. It truly was a moment to behold... and I am proud to support Barack Obama. For some of you out there still on the fence, I hope you will too.

Name: Eileen
Date posted: 2008-08-29 4:57 PM
Hometown: Kihei, HI

Comment:

A mere mention of visitation rights for our community means nothing to me or you. Most of America will agree with that sentiment - he took the easy road with regards to our inclusion in his speech. 1992, Bill Clinton was the first president who spoke up for us, and within his first 100 days, he actually made good on his promise to allow LGBT folks to serve openly in the military. He received much resistance, even from within his own party (Sam Nunn, etc.). Unfortunately, some folks only recall the compromise he was forced to make with DODT. We've since come a long way, with 2 states now allowing gay marriage, yet Senator Obama has been steadfast in his opinion that we should NOT be afforded this right. As an African American male, his lack of empathy for our situation speaks volumes about his empty suit status. While I can't bring myself to vote for McCain, I certainly can't cast my vote for someone who should know better and fight harder for our full inclusion into society.

Name: John Ademola
Date posted: 2008-08-29 10:42 AM
Hometown: Riverdale Il

Comment:

There is no gain saying that the Democrats are more in tune with the gay community than the Republicans rowing in the fundamentalist religious groups discriminatory boats. But the fact remains that politicians' promises are geared towards securing the electorates’ votes. Once elected they could get “so occupied with lots of other things” and feel there is no urgency or even a need to attending to the LGBT community pressing issues since life is gradually and steadily easing up for our community through states. How do we hold him accountable? This is where I think the ball falls on our court to support all LGBT activist organizations. Also let more and more people come out of the closet and find the beauty and the meaning in committed and responsible relationship.

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