Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama called for an end to discrimination against ‘our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters’ during his speech Aug. 28. (Photo by AP)
Obama speech an ‘emotional moment’ for gay leaders 84,000 cheer for Dem nominee during historic address
DENVER
—
Democratic
presidential
candidate
Barack
Obama’s
nomination
speech
last
week
impressed
and
excited
many
gay
rights
activists.
Joe
Solmonese,
president
of
the
Human
Rights
Campaign,
called
Obama’s
speech
an
“emotional
moment”
and
a
“brilliant
opportunity”
for
Obama
“to
speak
to
more
Americans
than
he’s
probably
ever
spoken
to
before
or
may
speak
to
again
before
the
election.”
He
said
he
hoped
people
took
away
a
sense
of
the
candidate’s
vision
for
America,
which
“very
much
includes
GLBT
Americans.”
“GLBT
Americans,
I
hope,
would
feel
as
inspired
as
I
do
coming
away
from
it,”
said
Solmonese,
whose
organization
has
endorsed
Obama.
Rea
Carey,
executive
director
of
the
National
Gay
&
Lesbian
Task
Force,
said
Obama’s
speech
was
extraordinary
and
demonstrated
“the
energy
for
a
new
time.”
“Certainly,
we
in
the
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual
and
transgender
community
are
hungry
for
something
different
than
what
we
have
experienced
in
the
last
eight
years,
which
has
just
been
devastating
to
our
community,”
she
said.
Jon
Hoadley,
executive
director
of
the
National
Stonewall
Democrats,
which
also
endorsed
Obama,
said
Obama’s
speech
“struck
the
tone
of
specifics
with
aspirations.”
Obama
delivered
his
acceptance
speech
Aug.
28
in
primetime
at
Invesco
Field,
home
of
the
Denver
Broncos.
The
speech
marked
the
first
time
that
a
major
political
party
has
nominated
a
black
person
for
the
U.S.
presidency.
An
estimated
84,000
people
came
to
hear
Obama.
Some
waited
for
hours
in
a
line
that
snaked
through
the
area
surrounding
Invesco
Field
for
miles.
The
audience
roared
as
Obama
put
forward
his
agenda
for
bringing
change
to
America.
Attendees
waived
miniature
American
flags
and
blue
signs
reading
“Change
We
Can
Believe
In,”
and
chanted
the
Obama
campaign
slogan,
“Yes
We
Can!”
“Change
happens
because
the
American
people
demand
it
—
because
they
rise
up
and
insist
on
new
ideas
and
new
leadership,
a
new
politics
for
a
new
time,”
Obama
said.
“America,
this
is
one
of
those
moments.”
Obama
mentioned
his
commitment
to
gay
rights
when
he
listed
several
contentious
issues
facing
the
American
public,
such
as
abortion
and
gun
ownership.
“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,”
he
said.
Attendees
responded
to
the
line
quickly
with
loud
and
sustained
applause.
Solmonese
said
Obama
made
the
remarks
on
gay
rights
in
an
attempt
to
bring
the
issues
to
the
attention
of
the
“middle
of
America.”
“He
was
speaking
probably
less
to
the
community
and
trying
to
find
common
ground
with
the
people
we
need
to
move,”
he
said.
Hoadley
said
he
was
“excited”
that
Obama
included
gays
and
lesbians
in
his
speech.
“It
was
primetime
inclusion
of
our
community
and
I
think
that’s
important,”
he
said.
Still,
Hoadley
said
he
wished
Obama
“would
have
been
talking
about
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual
and
transgender
issues
as
a
full
spectrum.”
LEADERS
EVALUATE
CONVENTION
Some
advocacy
leaders,
however,
said
broader
discussions
of
gay
issues
were
present
elsewhere
at
the
convention.
Solmonese,
who
has
attended
every
Democratic
convention
since
1988,
said
he
felt
that
“a
dialogue
around
GLBT
issues
was
really
sort
of
woven
through
every
aspect
of
the
convention.”
Carey,
who
noted
the
Task
Force
does
not
issue
endorsements,
said
there
was
“just
a
sense
that
the
participation
of
the
LGBT
community
in
the
Democratic
Party
was
welcome,
encouraged
and
valued.”
The
convention
featured
two
openly
gay
speakers:
Democratic
National
Committee
Treasurer
Andy
Tobias,
who
spoke
in
the
afternoon
of
Aug.
25
on
restoring
the
fiscal
health
of
the
nation,
and
U.S.
Rep.
Tammy
Baldwin
(D-Wisc.),
who
spoke
in
the
early
evening
of
Aug.
26
on
health
care
reform.
The
number
of
openly
gay
speakers
was
fewer
than
2004,
when
there
were
six
out
speakers
at
the
Democratic
convention.
But
numerous
prominent
straight
speakers
mentioned
gay
rights
this
year
in
their
speeches,
including
Sen.
Ted
Kennedy
(D-Mass.),
former
presidential
candidate
Sen.
Hillary
Clinton
(D-N.Y.),
former
President
Bill
Clinton,
and
former
Vice
President
Al
Gore.
Gay
delegates
also
met
during
two
caucuses
and
luncheons
throughout
the
week
to
discuss
gay
issues.
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