white house

Home
white house

White House conference in Atlanta attracts activists from across the state

The Georgia Voice Editors
National
0

White House conference on HIV/AIDS

In 2009, some 2.6 million people were tested for HIV. Of those, only 4,100 were transgender.

That was one of the startling facts revealed at the White House LGBT Conference on HIV/AIDS held April 19 at Morehouse School of Medicine. The conference was one of many LGBT-related conferences the White House plans to hold throughout the year.

Former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, now a professor at Morehouse, also noted that HIV infections continue to rise among gay and bi men. For example, 61 percent of new HIV infections in the U.S. are among gay and bisexual men, although this population accounts for only 2 percent of the country’s population, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

Churches must make it safe to come out as LGBT and HIV-positive

The Georgia Voice Editors
Editorials
0

Rev. Kenneth SamuelThis weekend people will fill the pews all over this nation. Among the many lives represented in our places of worship and congregations, there will be countless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, many of them people of color, whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS.

While the disease has devastated our communities for over 30 years, many of us have drawn on our faith, hope and dedication to spiritual principles that call us to “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.” Our faith calls us to action.

As the members of President Obama’s Administration come to Atlanta today for the White House LGBT Conference on HIV/AIDS, it is important to look deeply at the havoc the disease has caused, and how the black and LGBT communities are in this decades-long fight together.  

White House issues LGBT ‘Champions of Change’ video challenge

The Georgia Voice Editors
Politics
0

It's time to make your own YouTube for LGBT equality and submit what you see as a march for a more perfect union to equality through the o the White House's "LGBT Pride Month Champions of Change Video Challenge."

Videos are being accepted now — they can be music videos, PSAs, interviews — whatever your creativity inspires and will be accepted until May 4. Finalists will be selected in early June and the public will have a chance to vote on which video best represents the work for equality.

White House conference on LGBT HIV/AIDS coming to Atlanta

The Georgia Voice Editors
Atlanta
0

https://thegavoice.com/images/stories/3-4-11/barackobama-body-3-4-11.jpg

The White House recently announced it will host a LGBT conference on HIV/AIDS in Atlanta on Thursday, April 19.

The conference is part of a series of events hosted by the White House specifically for LGBT Americans. The conference will be hosted by the White House Office of Public Engagement and Office of National AIDS Policy in partnership with the Morehouse School of Medicine.

The White House says that participants “will receive important updates from senior administration officials and have the opportunity to learn about Federal government resources and opportunities through workshop sessions.”

[Video] Georgia’s LGBT Health Initiative ED and family head to White House in search of Easter eggs

The Georgia Voice Editors
Georgia
0

images/stories/3-30-12/lindaellisfamily.jpg

Linda Ellis, executive director for the Health Initiative, is heading to the White House with her family to partake in the annual Easter Egg Roll on April 9.

“It’s very exciting to be a part of this year’s event. My family and I look forward to representing LGBT health and wellness for Georgia on the lawn of the White House,” Ellis said in a statement.  

Ellis and her partner, Lesley Brogan, and their two sons will join more than 35,000 people on the South Lawn of the White House for the 134th annual Easter Egg Roll that will include games, music and ways to educate families about exercise and healthy eating.

White House invites lesbians to State of the Union address

The Georgia Voice Editors
Politics
0

https://thegavoice.com/images/stories/10-29-10/barackobama-body-10-29-10.jpg

Loreliei Kilker, an analytical chemist from Brighton, Co., and Colonel Ginger Wallace, an Air Force intelligence officer, will join First Lady Michelle Obama tonight during President Barack Obama's annual State of the Union address as guests of the First Family, according to the White House.

Presidents often highlight the personal stories from guests sitting with the first lady.

Kilker was awarded a monetary settlement after an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation found systemic sex discrimination at her previous employment.

Obama issues new initiatives to advance LGBT rights abroad

The Georgia Voice Editors
News
0

President Obama's administration announced it would no longer defend DOMA in court

President Barack Obama today issued a memorandum to the heads of each executive branch directing government agencies to “promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons.”

“I am deeply concerned by the violence and discrimination targeting LGBT persons around the world — whether it is passing laws that criminalize LGBT status, beating citizens simply for joining peaceful LGBT Pride celebrations, or killing men, women, and children for their perceived sexual orientation,” the memo reads.

The president ordered agencies under the executive branch to combat the criminalization of LGBT status or conduct, protect LGBT refugees and assylum seekers, issue “swift and meaningful” responses to human rights abuses of LGBT persons abroad, and engage international gay rights organizations in the fight against LGBT discrimination.

White House responds to DOMA petition

The Georgia Voice Editors
Politics
0

President Obama's administration announced it would no longer defend DOMA in court

The White House responded this week to an online petition calling for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex unions.

The "We the People" petitions, an initiative created by the White House, offer citizens a chance to call on President Obama and his administration to act on a range of issues from social and domestic to foreign policy and the economy.

One of the most signed petitions called for the repeal of DOMA, which included some 14,000 signatures.

Here is the official response from Gautam Raghavan, from the White House Office of Public Engagement:

National Gay History Project highlights LGBT people among nation’s founders

The Georgia Voice Editors
National
0

James Buchanan

James Buchanan: America’s first gay president?

More than 150 years before America elected its first black president, Barack Obama, it most likely had its first gay president, James Buchanan (1791-1868).

Buchanan, a Democrat from Lancaster County, Pa., was the 15th president of the United States, and a lifelong bachelor. He served as president from 1857-61, tumultuous years leading up to the Civil War.

CDC campaign ‘Testing Makes Us Stronger’ targets black gay, bisexual men

The Georgia Voice Editors
National
0

HIV posterWith new numbers from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control & Prevention showing a 48 percent increase in new HIV infections for young black gay and bisexual men between 2006-2009, activists and CDC officials are trying to find ways to halt the pandemic particularly within this community.

Today it was announced at the 2011 HIV Prevention Conference that the CDC is set to launch a "Testing Makes Us Stronger" campaign with black MSMs (men who have sex with men).

Featured in posters and in social media campaigns including Facebook and Twitter, the project will urge black gay and bisexual men to get tested and know their status. The campaign will also be advertised in black gay publications as well as mainstream black publications.

The conference is being held in Atlanta through Wednesday, Aug. 17.