Sen. Obama releases statement to the gay community Says 'equality is a moral imperative'
From staff reports | Feb. 28 at
10:30 AM
Feb. 28 at
10:30 AM Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama released a statement
today titled, "Open Letter from Barack Obama to the LGBT community."
The full text follows: "I’m running for President to build an America that lives up to our
founding promise of equality for all – a promise that extends to our
gay brothers and sisters. It’s wrong to have millions of Americans
living as second-class citizens in this nation. And I ask for your
support in this election so that together we can bring about real
change for all LGBT Americans. Equality is a moral imperative. That’s why throughout my career, I have
fought to eliminate discrimination against LGBT Americans. In Illinois,
I co-sponsored a fully inclusive bill that prohibited discrimination on
the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, extending
protection to the workplace, housing, and places of public
accommodation. In the U.S. Senate, I have co-sponsored bills that would
equalize tax treatment for same-sex couples and provide benefits to
domestic partners of federal employees. And as president, I will place
the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew
Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and a fully inclusive Employment
Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis
of sexual orientation and gender identity. SOURCE OF THIS STORY
