LGBT again
I've read a lot about H. Clinton and B. Obama about their support of the LGBT community. I have spoken with many members of the community locally that support Clinton. When I've asked them why, they tell me about how she's always fought the good fight and how much they admire her. Most of these people have been gay men. On line however I've found exactly the opposite...most of the members of the LGBT community I've encountered are firm and die hard supporters of Obama. They believe Bill Clinton threw the community "under the bus" and as such, Hillary Clinton should pay.
Now, as a Clinton supporter, and a member of the LGBT community, I would like to share my 2 cents.
TRANSGENDER:
Obama is not openly accepting of transgender people. He speaks to them in his speeches but he openly admits that he does not believe a bill that protects them from hate crimes and discrimination can pass at this time so he would leave them off in order to pass something that protects the rest of the community.
Clinton does and has always included the transgender community in all hate and discrimination bills she's proposed and supported. She has also given speeches expressing the importance of protecting ALL people. She is very good at including the community in her anti-discrimination, anti-hate crimes, and equal health care bills.
EDNA:
Obama and Clinton are almost equal on this topic, again, Clinton is very assertive when it comes to including the transgender community and including terminology such as 'gender identity' as something that can not be discriminated against.
HATE CRIMES:
Obama and Clinton are both 'riders' on the Matthew Shephard Act. Clinton has a strong history of supporting the community. In 2005 there was an attempt to pass an Anti-hate crime bill similar to the Matthew Shephard Act. Clinton was a co-sponsor of that bill. Obama was not. It is only in recent history that Obama has become involved.
AIDS:
Both candidates support funding and further research. Obama talks about the importance of prevention yet consistently has voted against all inclusive sex education acts that would make condoms more readily available to our youth. He believes in the term "age appropriate" and frequently dodges any questions that ask him to identify what that age is. Clinton has supported multiple attempts of all inclusive sex education acts and having federal programs that provide access to contraceptives. She believes when the school system starts sex ed, that is when they should start providing methods of disease prevention and birth control. She has not said if the federal government should be responsible for identifying how soon a school should start teaching sex ed.
DOMA:
Obama will repeal the entire thing however, Obama also feels it should be left up to the states and has implied he would put forth and pass something that says as much.
Clinton will repeal ALL of it EXCEPT the ability to leave it up to the states to decide. On this topic the two are the same.
They are separate when it comes to their discussions about "gay marriage." Both believe that gays should have the same legal rights as straight married couples. Both have indicated that should be addressed at the federal level. Obama has said he personally doesn't believe in allowing gays to marry HOWEVER he sees nothing wrong with Civil Unions. Clinton has expressed that she believes the church should decide about 'marriage' and that her faith doesn't have a strong view about it. Clinton dodges the topic of "marriage" vs "civil unions." Obama has said in a speech once that he believes all federal marriages should be called "civil unions" and therefore apply the same legal rights to all unions regardless of sex. I have not found anything where Clinton addresses this notion. Obama also says, in reference to the current idea of Civil Unions (not in reference to what he believes civil unions should be) ... Obama believes the current civil unions are NOT an example of 'separate but equal.' (which is a pile of bull in my mind) Clinton was not asked that question directly but she has indicated that she believes by making a separate definition it does segregate and isolate which is not a good idea.
DON'T ASK DON'T TELL
Obama and Clinton are against keeping these rules. They both see that DADT is no longer a useful or helpful rule. Clinton has explained how it was an important step when Bill Clinton passed it. Clinton also has said how it is time to take the next step. This is a very important issue to her. Obama has said he will not require that his chief advisers agree with the removal of don't ask don't tell. Which can indicate how strongly he feels about it. Clinton again, has not been asked that direct question. Many people hold DADT against Hillary Clinton. To that I say 1) brush up on your history, the idea of DADT was a good thing and it did make a difference... one that has now gone the wrong direction and needs to be modified. 2) Bill Clinton was a pushover. He had the power to pass the law the way he intended which would have allowed gays in the military and protected them... however he was afraid of turning his congress against him so instead he listened to his adviser (Colin Powell) and made compromises that were not necessary which created the DADT mind-set.
IF DADT is important to you, make sure you are nominating and electing a president that isn't afraid to stand up on their own two feet and make aggressive changes.
SUMMARY:
My opinion on Hillary Clinton is that she will compromise when she has to in order to achieve her goal. She will NOT compromise her principles in the process. If she can't get everything she wants, she'll pass what she can get and will continue fighting for what she didn't... or she'll throw in a bonus for the republicans in order to pass the things that are important to her. From what I've seen of her "republican bonuses" I personally am comfortable with her compromises and I support her.
My opinion on Barack Obama is that he will listen to his mentors and advisers. He was hand picked to be a senator and was given very important and influential pieces of legislation to put his name on right before they were passed. He has done almost everything Kennedy and Kerry have said he should do. I have not found a thought or bill that he presented in the Senate that wasn't presented prior to him. He has a charisma that gets things passed and agreed to, but it does not appear that he has any personal convictions about anything other than going to war was a bad idea. He also doesn't have a record of backing up his convictions (he's voted against a deadline to withdraw). He is willing to make compromises which is a great trait and is important... however I do not agree with him on the topic of transgenders. He hasn't even TRIED to pass anything to protect them, he simply says it won't and therefore excludes them. That is NOT the role of a leader.
I agree, both candidates are weaker than I'd like on the LGBTIQ front... however, I firmly feel that Clinton does have the upper hand on this topic AND I will support and help her in any way I can.
Now, as a Clinton supporter, and a member of the LGBT community, I would like to share my 2 cents.
TRANSGENDER:
Obama is not openly accepting of transgender people. He speaks to them in his speeches but he openly admits that he does not believe a bill that protects them from hate crimes and discrimination can pass at this time so he would leave them off in order to pass something that protects the rest of the community.
Clinton does and has always included the transgender community in all hate and discrimination bills she's proposed and supported. She has also given speeches expressing the importance of protecting ALL people. She is very good at including the community in her anti-discrimination, anti-hate crimes, and equal health care bills.
EDNA:
Obama and Clinton are almost equal on this topic, again, Clinton is very assertive when it comes to including the transgender community and including terminology such as 'gender identity' as something that can not be discriminated against.
HATE CRIMES:
Obama and Clinton are both 'riders' on the Matthew Shephard Act. Clinton has a strong history of supporting the community. In 2005 there was an attempt to pass an Anti-hate crime bill similar to the Matthew Shephard Act. Clinton was a co-sponsor of that bill. Obama was not. It is only in recent history that Obama has become involved.
AIDS:
Both candidates support funding and further research. Obama talks about the importance of prevention yet consistently has voted against all inclusive sex education acts that would make condoms more readily available to our youth. He believes in the term "age appropriate" and frequently dodges any questions that ask him to identify what that age is. Clinton has supported multiple attempts of all inclusive sex education acts and having federal programs that provide access to contraceptives. She believes when the school system starts sex ed, that is when they should start providing methods of disease prevention and birth control. She has not said if the federal government should be responsible for identifying how soon a school should start teaching sex ed.
DOMA:
Obama will repeal the entire thing however, Obama also feels it should be left up to the states and has implied he would put forth and pass something that says as much.
Clinton will repeal ALL of it EXCEPT the ability to leave it up to the states to decide. On this topic the two are the same.
They are separate when it comes to their discussions about "gay marriage." Both believe that gays should have the same legal rights as straight married couples. Both have indicated that should be addressed at the federal level. Obama has said he personally doesn't believe in allowing gays to marry HOWEVER he sees nothing wrong with Civil Unions. Clinton has expressed that she believes the church should decide about 'marriage' and that her faith doesn't have a strong view about it. Clinton dodges the topic of "marriage" vs "civil unions." Obama has said in a speech once that he believes all federal marriages should be called "civil unions" and therefore apply the same legal rights to all unions regardless of sex. I have not found anything where Clinton addresses this notion. Obama also says, in reference to the current idea of Civil Unions (not in reference to what he believes civil unions should be) ... Obama believes the current civil unions are NOT an example of 'separate but equal.' (which is a pile of bull in my mind) Clinton was not asked that question directly but she has indicated that she believes by making a separate definition it does segregate and isolate which is not a good idea.
DON'T ASK DON'T TELL
Obama and Clinton are against keeping these rules. They both see that DADT is no longer a useful or helpful rule. Clinton has explained how it was an important step when Bill Clinton passed it. Clinton also has said how it is time to take the next step. This is a very important issue to her. Obama has said he will not require that his chief advisers agree with the removal of don't ask don't tell. Which can indicate how strongly he feels about it. Clinton again, has not been asked that direct question. Many people hold DADT against Hillary Clinton. To that I say 1) brush up on your history, the idea of DADT was a good thing and it did make a difference... one that has now gone the wrong direction and needs to be modified. 2) Bill Clinton was a pushover. He had the power to pass the law the way he intended which would have allowed gays in the military and protected them... however he was afraid of turning his congress against him so instead he listened to his adviser (Colin Powell) and made compromises that were not necessary which created the DADT mind-set.
IF DADT is important to you, make sure you are nominating and electing a president that isn't afraid to stand up on their own two feet and make aggressive changes.
SUMMARY:
My opinion on Hillary Clinton is that she will compromise when she has to in order to achieve her goal. She will NOT compromise her principles in the process. If she can't get everything she wants, she'll pass what she can get and will continue fighting for what she didn't... or she'll throw in a bonus for the republicans in order to pass the things that are important to her. From what I've seen of her "republican bonuses" I personally am comfortable with her compromises and I support her.
My opinion on Barack Obama is that he will listen to his mentors and advisers. He was hand picked to be a senator and was given very important and influential pieces of legislation to put his name on right before they were passed. He has done almost everything Kennedy and Kerry have said he should do. I have not found a thought or bill that he presented in the Senate that wasn't presented prior to him. He has a charisma that gets things passed and agreed to, but it does not appear that he has any personal convictions about anything other than going to war was a bad idea. He also doesn't have a record of backing up his convictions (he's voted against a deadline to withdraw). He is willing to make compromises which is a great trait and is important... however I do not agree with him on the topic of transgenders. He hasn't even TRIED to pass anything to protect them, he simply says it won't and therefore excludes them. That is NOT the role of a leader.
I agree, both candidates are weaker than I'd like on the LGBTIQ front... however, I firmly feel that Clinton does have the upper hand on this topic AND I will support and help her in any way I can.