Jun 13, 2008  |  By: JOSHUA LYNSEN  | COMMENTS     

Renewing his commitment to gay rights advances, Sen. Barack Obama has pledged to put the weight of his administration behind two key federal bills.

In an open letter to gay voters titled “Obama Pride,” the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said he has long fought to “eliminate discrimination” against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans.

“And as president,” he said, “I will place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and pass a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”

The letter, released June 6, came the same day that his campaign appealed to gay supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s suspended presidential campaign.

Steve Hildebrand, Obama’s deputy campaign manager, said on a conference call with Clinton’s gay supporters and other gay voters that their help was wanted and needed for the general election.

He acknowledged “the strength” that Clinton had with gay voters and emphasized that Obama maintains a “rock-solid commitment to gay Americans.”

David Mixner, a longtime gay rights activist who initially endorsed former Sen. John Edwards for president, encouraged the call’s 1,200 listeners to rally around Obama.
“We’ve had moments in our history, as a community, where we have an opportunity to create change and make huge advancements,” he said. “I believe this is such a moment.”

Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese, who also spoke on the call, said the organization was proud to endorse Obama for president. He noted HRC would mobilize its members “like never before” to help Obama win.

Hildebrand noted in that call and another call June 11 that as the campaign’s staff expands for the general election, prominent gays would fill several key positions.

Dave Noble, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force’s public policy director, is preparing to leave that position June 20 to become the campaign’s full-time gay vote director.

Noble said he would lead a “grassroots mobilization effort” to engage gay voters in each state and noted those efforts would include Obama’s campaign maintaining a presence at 60 Pride events across the country.

Hildebrand said lesbian musician Melissa Etheridge would serve as co-chair of the campaign’s 50-state voter registration program, while Kevin Jennings, founder of Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, and Joan Garry, a former Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation executive director, would serve as co-chairs of the campaign’s gay finance operations.

Garry, a Blade columnist, said this week that she took the volunteer role because Obama “offers America a very new and different vision.”

“The campaign has been incredibly welcoming, incredibly fast paced and extraordinarily receptive to the opinions and perspectives of those of us involved,” she said. (Read Garry’s column on page 46.)

Hildebrand also said that Brian Bond, who served as the gay outreach director for the Democratic National Committee, would move to Chicago to become the campaign’s director of constituencies. He noted the role would involve outreach to many voter groups, not just gays.

Tobias Wolff, who chairs Obama’s national gay policy committee, said the candidate “understands this is a community that deserves to be courted” beyond the primary contest.

“We will continue to work to be worthy of your trust and your support,” Wolff said during the June 6 call. “We certainly don’t take it for granted.”

Hildebrand irked some gays, however, when he referenced “the gay lifestyle” in the June 11 call.

In discussing how the campaign “messed up” when it allowed anti-gay minister Rev. Donnie McClurkin to join a fundraising tour last year, Hildebrand said there are some “African Americans who do not agree with the gay lifestyle.”

Such phrasing is offensive to some gays, since it can be taken to imply that people choose to be gay.

Hildebrand, who is gay, told the Blade after the call that he did not mean to imply that people choose to be gay.

“I certainly know that being gay is not a choice — but I am proud to be gay,” he said. “I did not intend to imply anything except that it is important that we try to find common ground with those who are not supportive of LGBT rights.”

‘I will never compromise’

Obama, in his letter, says he hopes he and his supporters can work inclusively ...