Columbus Gay Real Estate: White House LGBT Update

December 8, 2011

Earlier this week, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
articulated the first-ever U.S. Government strategy to direct all federal agencies
engaged abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote
and protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons.

These actions represent a continuation of the Obama Administration’s commitment
to safety, justice, and equality for LGBT people everywhere. President Obama
expressed this commitment earlier this year at the United Nations General Assembly,
when he said “No country should deny people their rights because of who they love,
which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere.” And
since January 2009, Secretary Clinton has strongly and consistently championed a comprehensive human rights agenda — one that specifically includes the protection
of LGBT people.

I hope you share my excitement about these recent developments – powerful examples
of the Obama Administration’s ongoing commitment to human rights for all people – and encourage you to take a few moments to read the Presidential Memorandum and
watch the Secretary’s speech.

Best regards,

Gautam Raghavan

Office of Public Engagement
The White House

President Obama Announces Strategy on International LGBT
Human Rights
The President at the UN General Assembly

The President at the UN General Assembly

President Barack Obama addresses the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations Building in New York, N.Y., Sept. 21, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton).

On Tuesday morning, President Obama demonstrated his continued commitment to
LGBT equality by issuing a
Presidential Memorandum on International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of LGBT Persons.

This Memorandum directs all federal agencies engaged abroad to ensure that U.S.
diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT
persons. Specifically, the Presidential Memorandum directs agencies to:

Combat the criminalization of LGBT status or conduct abroad.
Protect vulnerable LGBT refugees and asylum seekers.
Leverage foreign assistance to protect human rights and advance nondiscrimination.
Ensure swift and meaningful U.S. responses to human rights abuses of LGBT
persons abroad
Engage International Organizations in the fight against LGBT discrimination.
Report on progress.

For more information:

Secretary Clinton Delivers Remarks on LGBT Human Rights

Secretary Clinton meets with LGBT activists and supporters from the diplomatic corps
at the United Nations Office at Geneva, December 6, 2011. (Official State Department
Photo by Eric Bridiers)

On Tuesday, just moments after the Presidential Memorandum was released,
Secretary Clinton delivered a speech in Geneva in recognition of Human Rights
Day. In her speech, Secretary Clinton passionately articulated the importance
of defending the human rights of LGBT people everywhere, reiterating that “gay
rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.”

In calling for global action on LGBT human rights, Secretary Clinton described
the human rights violations that LGBT people currently face:

It is violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their
sexual orientation, or because they do not conform to cultural norms about how
men and women should look or behave. It is a violation of human rights when
governments declare it illegal to be gay, or allow those who harm gay people to
go unpunished. It is a violation of human rights when lesbian or transgender women
are subjected to so-called corrective rape, or forcibly subjected to hormone
treatments, or when people are murdered after public calls for violence toward gays,
or when they are forced to flee their nations and seek asylum in other lands to save their lives. And it is a violation of human rights when life-saving care is withheld from people because they are gay, or equal access to justice is denied to people because they are
gay, or public spaces are out of bounds to people because they are gay. No matter
what we look like, where we come from, or who we are, we are all equally entitled to
our human rights and dignity.

Secretary Clinton also described some of the critical efforts already underway at the
State Department and announced a new Global Equality Fund to support the work of
civil society organizations working on LGBT human rights issues around the world.
In closing her remarks, Secretary Clinton reiterated the Obama Administration’s
commitment to LGBT human rights and put that commitment in the context of
America’s ongoing march towards equality and justice for all people:

And finally, to LGBT men and women worldwide, let me say this: Wherever you live
and whatever the circumstances of your life, whether you are connected to a network
of support or feel isolated and vulnerable, please know that you are not alone. People
around the globe are working hard to support you and to bring an end to the injustices
and dangers you face. That is certainly true for my country. And you have an ally in the United States of America and you have millions of friends among the American people.
...
There is a phrase that people in the United States invoke when urging others to support human rights: “Be on the right side of history.” The story of the United States is the
story of a nation that has repeatedly grappled with intolerance and inequality. We fought
a brutal civil war over slavery. People from coast to coast joined in campaigns to
recognize the rights of women, indigenous peoples, racial minorities, children, people
with disabilities, immigrants, workers, and on and on. And the march toward equality
and justice has continued. Those who advocate for expanding the circle of human rights
were and are on the right side of history, and history honors them. Those who tried to constrict human rights were wrong, and history reflects that as well.
For more information:

Tweets of the Week
During and after the speech, numerous U.S. embassies and posts across the world
tweeted portions of Secretary Clinton's speech and reactions to the Presidential Memorandum. Here are a few:

What You May Have Missed

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attend the Kennedy Center
Honors celebrating honorees Neil Diamond, Meryl Streep, Sonny Rollins, Yo-Yo Ma and Barbara Cook at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011. (by Lawrence Jackson)

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