Tag Archives: Barack Obama

DADT, hate crimes, marriage, and much more.

UPDATE: The ceremony has concluded.

This morning President Obama is expected to sign the executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT employees. Chris Geidner at Buzzfeed has an advance, but unconfirmed, copy of the text: EXECUTIVE ORDER Further Amendments to Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government, and Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity By the authority vested in me …

Via Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade: President Obama is set on Monday to take executive action to prohibit discrimination against LGBT employees working for federal contractors and the federal government, the Washington Blade has learned. In a conference call with reporters on Friday, senior administration officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Obama plans to amend existing executive …

This afternoon President Obama held a press conference on the shooting down of the Malaysian airliner. Here’s an excerpt of his statement via a transcript provided by the White House: Here’s what we know so far. Evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile that was launched from an area that is controlled by Russian-backed separatists …

Story developing…

From the editorial board of the New York TImes: President Obama should resist a pressure campaign by some religious groups to weaken a promised executive order that would prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against gay men, lesbians and transgender people in their hiring practices. Emboldened by the Supreme Court’s addlebrained Hobby Lobby decision, several groups wrote to Mr. Obama on …

Yesterday’s LGBT pride event at the White House was live-streamed at the time and late this afternoon an edited recording of the event was posted to the White House’s official YouTube channel. Many noted activists were in attendance.

Via Politico: President Barack Obama said Monday that the White House is preparing an executive order banning job discrimination among federal employees on the basis of gender identity. Obama mentioned the planned measure while addressing a White House reception marking LGBT Pride Month. The White House announced earlier this month that the president also intends to sign an executive order …

This weekend the South Dakota state GOP passed a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Obama. The resolution says Obama has “violated his oath of office in numerous ways.” It specifically cites the release of five Taliban combatants in a trade for captive U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl, Obama’s statement that people could keep insurance companies, and recent EPA regulations …

At the Faith & Freedom Coalition convention.

Via USA Today: President Obama said Thursday he is planning to send up to 300 military advisers to Iraq to help retrain Iraqi security forces as they battle an insurgent invasion. “Armed forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq,” Obama said in a White House announcement. After a meeting with national security advisers, Obama also announced a series …

From an op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal: Rarely has a U.S. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many. Too many times to count, Mr. Obama has told us he is “ending” the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—as though wishing made it so. His rhetoric has now come crashing into reality. Watching the …

Via the Los Angeles Times: President Obama got two sustained standing ovations at the annual LGBT gala in Manhattan on Tuesday night — one for promising an executive order the group has long wanted and one just for walking into the room. After taking the stage at the Democratic National Committee fundraiser, Obama had to wait for at least a …

“Considering the decisions of this administration, every month feels like ‘gay pride month.’ But this year, the President had something special in mind for his activist friends. The President will soon be issuing an executive order mandating that all federal contractors and subcontractors give special treatment to homosexuals, transgenders, and cross-dressers in the workplace. This action is wrong on the …

Yesterday it was announced that President Obama plans to issue an executive order forbidding federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT employees. Today Sen. Orrin Hatch declared that he wants to create the same gaping religious loophole in the order that has caused several major LGBT rights groups to denounce ENDA. “While the specifics of this executive order are not yet …

Via press release from Lambda Legal: Today, the U.S. Senate made judicial history by confirming Darrin Gayles to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and Staci Yandle to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, marking the first time that two openly gay judicial nominees have been confirmed to the federal bench on …

“This political gesture reflects the president’s repeated disregard for the legislative process. Congress has not passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) or similar provisions, despite activists’ pressure to do so, because of the detrimental impact on employers’ and employees’ constitutional freedoms of religion, speech, and association. Historically, these kinds of provisions have not been applied to conduct-based distinctions that are …

The National Lesbian & Gay Task Force is first with the news that President Obama will sign an executive order forbidding anti-LGBT discrimination by employers who have contracts with the federal government. Via press release: “This is a major step forward in the struggle for freedom and justice for LGBTQ workers and their families. Now millions of people will have …

“With encouragement and unconditional love, fathers guide their children and help them envision brighter futures. They are teachers and coaches, friends and role models. They instill values like hard work and integrity, and teach their kids to take responsibility for themselves and those around them. This is a task for every father — whether married or single, gay or straight, …