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Recently
in
your
article
entitled
“Presidential
campaigns
target
gay
Georgia
voters”
(news,
Jan.
11),
Lawrie
Demorest
was
quoted
as
saying
the
Obama
Campaign
had
not
reached
out
for
her
support.
Unfortunately,
Ms.
Demorest
forgot
that
the
Obama
Campaign
reached
out
to
her
last
July.
Lawrie
has
indicated
to
me
that
she
did
not
remember
our
outreach
and
she
has
apologized
profusely.
It
is
clear
the
Obama
Campaign
has
reached
out
and
continues
to
reach
out
to
the
LGBT
community
in
Georgia
and
across
the
country.
The
2008
election
is
about
change:
Change
America
can
believe
in,
and
change
that
includes
every
LGBT
American.
Voters
who
care
about
LGBT
equality
are
no
longer
willing
to
settle
for
mere
promises.
They
want
a
demonstrated
commitment
to
equality.
Sen.
Barack
Obama
is
the
candidate
who
has
shown
that
commitment.
Among
all
the
candidates
in
this
race,
only
Sen.
Obama
included
gays
and
lesbians
as
participants
in
the
American
Dream
when
announcing
his
decision
to
run
for
president.
It
was
a
first
in
American
politics
for
the
LGBT
community
and
reflected
the
senator’s
longstanding
commitment
to
our
equal
rights.
That
commitment
is
manifest
in
Obama’s
record
of
accomplishment
on
LGBT
rights.
Barack
Obama
sponsored
the
Employment
Non-Discrimination
Act
in
Illinois
—
which
was
incorporated
into
another
bill
and
signed
into
law.
While
Congressional
leaders
weren’t
able
to
pass
a
bill
that
included
gender
identity
—
Obama
made
it
happen
in
Illinois.
Fighting
the
spread
of
HIV
and
securing
fully
funded,
accessible
treatment
for
people
with
HIV
or
AIDS
have
always
been
top
priorities
for
Barack
Obama.
He
understands
that
the
fight
against
HIV/AIDS
requires
an
approach
that
is
bold
enough
to
set
national
standards
and
benchmarks
for
progress
and
deep
enough
to
address
the
forces
of
poverty,
racism,
homophobia
and
unequal
access
to
health
care
that
all
contribute
to
the
spread
of
the
disease.
Sen.
Obama
has
supported
the
complete,
unqualified
repeal
of
the
federal
Defense
of
Marriage
Act
since
he
was
a
candidate
for
Senate.
He
has
taken
stronger
positions
on
dismantling
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell”
and
enacting
fully
inclusive
workplace
protections
than
any
candidate
in
this
race,
and
he
is
either
a
cosponsor
or
a
strong
supporter
of
every
major
piece
of
LGBT
legislation
in
Congress
today.
Sen.
Obama’s
record
of
accomplishment
stands
in
clear
contrast
to
the
other
two
leading
Democrats
in
this
race.
Sen.
Edwards
can
point
to
nothing
tangible
that
he
has
accomplished
for
LGBT
Americans,
and
his
recent
backing
of
LGBT
rights
must
be
measured
against
his
support
for
both
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell”
and
DOMA
during
his
candidacy
for
the
Senate
and
his
vote
against
immigration
rights
for
gay
couples
while
in
office.
Sen.
Clinton
continues
to
argue
that
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell”
and
DOMA
were
good
policies
when
they
were
enacted,
just
as
she
continues
to
oppose
a
full
repeal
of
DOMA.
More
important
still,
Obama
joins
his
past
record
of
accomplishment
with
a
vision
for
achieving
real
progress
going
forward.
We
will
not
achieve
change
on
LGBT
rights
if
we
limit
our
message
of
equality
to
those
who
already
support
us.
Barack
Obama
brings
his
message
to
skeptical
audiences,
and
he
challenges
those
who
oppose
change
to
stop
using
homophobia.
During
this
campaign,
he
asked
an
African-American
audience
to
confront
the
HIV/AIDS
issues
in
the
community
and
to
not
use
homophobia
as
a
stigma
to
avoid
the
topic.
Georgia
and
its
LGBT
leadership
are
important
to
our
campaign.
This
race
presents
an
historic
opportunity:
the
opportunity
to
elect
a
candidate
who
has
stood
up
for
LGBT
equality
boldly
and
courageously
for
his
entire
career
in
public
office.
That
candidate
is
Barack
Obama.
In
2008,
Georgia
and
the
nation
deserve
nothing
less.
STAMPP
CORBIN
Chair,
National
LGBT
Leadership
Council
Obama
for
America
’08
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed.
Rodney.Moore on 2/8/082:02 AM:
Marriage equality is the most important issue facing us. It's far from a aingle issue, as it effects everything from taxes, healthcare, Social Security, immigration, child custody, work benefits, home ownership, credit scores, you name it. Barack Obama, despite his eloquent and inspiring speeches about "equality" does NOT support marriage equality. He wont take political risk. If we stop settling and voting fear we can achieve marriage equality in our life time, YES WE CAN. Don't vote for him.
