From the updated White House website.  It sounds great.  Now let's see what kind of inclusive action unfolds.

Support for the LGBT Community

"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."

-- Barack Obama, June 1, 2007

• Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. President Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, President Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.
• Fight Workplace Discrimination: President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. The President also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
• Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.
• Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: President Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.
• Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: President Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.
• Expand Adoption Rights: President Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.
• Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, President Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. The President will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. President Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia -- that continues to surround HIV/AIDS.
• Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. President Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, ...   more »

We were sad when Ms. Tomlin's 2008 appearance was cancelled.  She's back!  You can also enjoy an exclusive meet and greet afterwards which will benefit the GLCC.  Follow link on side menu to purchase tickets.

AN EVENING OF CLASSIC LILY TOMLIN

Saturday, February 7, 2009
8 PM
Benedum Center
Pittsburgh, PA

An Evening of Classic Lily Tomlin is a nostalgic and warm presentation of Lily's "greatest hits" with more than a dozen of her famous characters -- including the precocious 6-year-old Edith Ann, the irascible telephone operator Ernestine, the aging beauty adviser Madame Lupe, Lucille the rubber addict, prim Judith Beasley from Calumet City, Indiana, and Lily's most profound character, Trudy, the schizophrenic street lady who starred in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. It will be a night of cerebral comedy and prescient social commentary woven among Lily's affectionate reminiscences about her childhood in the Midwest.

Lily Tomlin has won six Emmys, two Tony awards and a Grammy for her astounding body of work that includes the landmark comedy series, ?Laugh-In.?  Her one woman performance in Jane Wagner?s ?The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe? also won a CableAce Award for its film adaptation.  Other movies include Robert Altman?s THE PLAYER and SHORT CUTS, Joel Schumacher?s comedy THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING WOMAN, Woody Allen?s SHADOWS AND FOG, 9 TO 5 with Dolly Parton, ORANGE COUNTY, FLIRTING WITH DISASTER and I HEART HUCKABEES.  Her memorable television roles include ?Murphy Brown,? ?Will and Grace? and ?The West Wing.?

Tickets to Lily Tomlin may be purchased at the Theater Square Box Office 655 Penn Avenue, near 7th Street (Mon-Sat 9-9, Sun Noon-6), charge by phone at 412-456-6666 or online at www.pgharts.org. Prices are $100, $67 and $57.

PLEASE NOTE: If you already purchased a ticket for Lily from the Cultural Trust and would like to attend the Meet and Greet fundraiser, you can add on the event  through the GLCC for an additional $23.00.  Kat Carrick  412-793-5274  Mail to: GLCC, P.O. Box 5441 Pittsburgh PA 15206

All Tickets  for the Meet and Greet will be held at the Will Call office at the Benedum Center

I don't have much time to blog today.  It was hard to find time to watch the inauguration and there's always work and laundry.  More is happening with the Club Pittsburgh criminal investigation and new toxicology findings. Find that at KDKA Investigations. We are waiting for some more details to come out before commenting any further. I must say, however, that I hope the spotlight continues to shine on the issue of criminal wrongdoing in the death of Mr. Pettway AND the "pay to play" shenanigans that might have derailed the governmental failsafes that are supposed to prevent people from dying at health clubs.  My personal opinion is that the Mayor's people got involved because of campaign contributions and if it turns out they turned a blind eye to potentially lethal activities, they have the death of this man on their conscience.  It would be no different if, as someone commented, a gay restauranteur made sizable donations to Dan Onorato, called in a favor to cut out the middle man on a health inspection citation and then Mr. Pettway died of food poisoning in that restaurant.  In either case, Mr. Pettway should have expected that the government safeguards are in place to protect him.  That's Government 101.  The government let him down by not following through on the site inspection.  Would a thorough scrutiny of Club Pittsburgh have ended the alleged sale of huffing materials?  I guess we'll have to see.  The point is that equality means we have to play fair, too.  We can't cry foul and play the gay card to ward off investigations into our community businesses. 

Thanks to Maria for this fun suggestion.