A grassroots organization and super PAC urging Hillary Rodham Clinton to run for president in 2016 announced Monday that an Atlanta native will be its LGBT Americans Director.
Lisa Changadveja, a graduate of Brenau Women's College in Gainesville, Ga., majoring in political science and history, was named to the position of the Ready for Hillary campaign because of her political experience and ties with LGBT organizations.
“Throughout her life, Hillary has been a champion for LGBT citizens in America and across the world,” said Changadveja in a prepared statement.
Support for marriage equality is at an all-time high, according to a new poll released by The Washington Post / ABC News.
Some 58 percent of Americans now support the right for gay and lesbian couples to marry, but perhaps the most surprising result came from the question, “Do you think being homosexual is something that people choose to be, or do you think it's just the way they are?” Some 62 percent of respondents stated they believed being gay was not a choice.
The poll surveyed 1,001 adults and held a margin of error of 3.5 percent. It was conducted between March 7-10 of this year.
President Barack Obama issued a memorandum Dec. 6 directing government agencies to “promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons,” the same day Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a speech for International Human Rights Day that stressed inclusion for gay and transgender people.
“Today, I want to talk about the work we have left to do to protect one group of people whose human rights are still denied in too many parts of the world today. … I am talking about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, human beings born free and given bestowed equality and dignity, who have a right to claim that, which is now one of the remaining human rights challenges of our time,” Clinton said during a speech at the United Nations office in Geneva, Switzerland, according to a State Department transcript.
The secretary of state noted that she speaks “knowing that my own country’s record on human rights for gay people is far from perfect” and also acknowledged “that the obstacles standing in the way of protecting the human rights of LGBT people rest on deeply held personal, political, cultural, and religious beliefs.”
Should Ernie and Bert get married, or should gay folks leave them alone?
Re: “Change.org petition aims to out Bert and Ernie” (thegavoice.com, Aug. 10)
"Yes, they already live together. Might as well!"
"There is a time to push the envelope and then time to leave some things alone. I personally think this is one of times it should be left alone. Choose your battles wisely."
“Why must she dress that way? I think she’s confused about her gender.”
— Gay “Project Runway” host Tim Gunn, describing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s penchant for pant suits, in an interview on “Lopez Tonight.” (Huffington Post, July 27)
“Just got spam letter from M. Bachmann! My reply! Woman go back 2 school take history! & if I was on my deathbed & your best friend was JESUS!!! I WOULDN’T VOTE 4 YOUR GAY HATING, BULLY LOVING, POSER CHRISTIAN ASS!”
— Music icon Cher, mom to transgender son Chaz Bono, on Twitter, explaining why she will not vote for U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for president. (On Top Magazine, Aug. 1)
The United Nations’ Human Rights Council voted 23 to 19 on June 17 to approve a resolution that expresses “grave concern at acts of violence and discrimination, in all regions of the world, committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.”
The resolution, approved at a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, calls for the creation of a U.N. commission to document discriminatory laws, practices, and violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity around the world.
The study is to recommend “how international human rights law can be used to end violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
To mark 2011 International Day Against Homophobia, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued this statement earlier today, highlighting the oppression many LGBT people around the world face on a daily basis.
Hillary Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, recently came out in favor of same-sex marriage in New York (and thus presumably everywhere).
Read her full statement below: