Editor’s
note:
Barack
Obama’s
presidential
campaign
this
week
agreed
to
respond
in
writing
to
a
series
of
questions
submitted
by
William
R.
Kapfer,
co-president
of
Window
Media,
the
Blade’s
parent
company.
Washington
Blade:
What
personal
experiences
or
friendships
in
your
life
have
shaped
how
you
view
gay
issues?
Barack
Obama:
Michelle
and
I
have
been
blessed
with
many
openly
gay
and
lesbian
friends
and
colleagues
whom
we
have
been
close
to
for
many
years.
While
that
fact
has
made
the
issue
facing
the
LGBT
community
more
personal,
the
fundamental
reasons
I
have
for
supporting
equality
are
greater
than
any
individual.
I
am
running
for
President
because
I
believe
that
we
as
a
nation
need
change.
We
need
to
end
the
divisive
politics
of
George
W.
Bush
and
pursue
policies
that
treat
all
of
us,
regardless
of
identity
or
background,
with
dignity,
equality
and
respect.
Blade:
Do
you
have
any
role
models
who
are
openly
gay,
lesbian,
bisexual
or
transgender?
Obama:
A
college
professor
of
mine
helped
me
to
see
the
lives
of
LGBT
people
from
a
different
perspective.
He
was
the
first
openly
gay
professor
that
I
had
ever
come
in
contact
with,
or
openly
gay
person
of
authority
that
I
had
come
in
contact
with.
And
he
was
just
a
terrific
guy.
His
comfort
in
his
own
skin
and
the
friendship
we
developed
helped
to
educate
me
on
a
number
of
these
issues.
Blade:
Would
you
decline
to
nominate
a
qualified
Supreme
Court
justice,
cabinet
member
or
other
appointed
position
just
because
the
person
is
openly
gay?
Obama:
No.
If
elected,
my
appointments
will
be
made
on
the
actual
qualifications
of
the
candidates
for
office,
and
nothing
else.
In
my
administration,
my
first
criteria
will
be
competence
and
capability.
Blade:
Would
you
decline
to
nominate
a
qualified
Supreme
Court
justice
or
cabinet
member
who
had
a
history
of
anti-gay
rulings?
Obama:
I
would
have
to
consider
the
totality
of
the
candidate’s
record
and
qualifications.
However,
I
think
someone
who
has
an
established
record
of
failing
to
support
equal
opportunities
for
all
Americans
would
not
fare
well
in
an
Obama-Biden
administration.
Blade:
President
Bush
has
been
praised
for
his
AIDS
relief
efforts
in
Africa,
but
many
domestic
AIDS
service
providers
say
the
U.S.
focus
on
the
epidemic
abroad
ignores
growing
infection
rates
here
at
home.
How
would
your
AIDS
policies
differ
from
President
Bush’s
and
would
you
put
a
greater
focus
on
the
domestic
problem?
Obama:
President
Bush
has
done
a
good
job
with
international
AIDS
programs,
but
I
think
we
need
to
do
more,
especially
domestically.
If
elected,
during
my
first
year
in
office,
I
will
develop
and
implement
a
comprehensive
national
HIV/AIDS
strategy
that
includes
all
federal
agencies.
That
strategy
will
reduce
HIV
infections,
increase
access
to
care
and
reduce
HIV-related
health
disparities.
Congress
should
pass
the
JUSTICE
Act
to
combat
infection
within
our
prison
population.
And,
as
President,
I
will
continue
to
confront
the
stigma
—
too
often
tied
to
homophobia
—
that
continues
to
surround
HIV/AIDS.
Blade:
Would
you
resume
the
practice
started
by
President
Clinton
but
discontinued
by
President
Bush
of
creating
a
high-level
White
House
staff
position
serving
as
liaison
to
the
GLBT
community?
Obama:
I
will
make
sure
the
voices
of
LGBT
people
are
heard
in
the
White
House
and
I
thought
it
was
wrong
that
the
Bush
White
House
eliminated
this
position.
Blade:
Important
gay
rights
legislation
unrelated
to
marriage
has
been
stalled
in
Congress
for
quite
some
time.
The
gay
community
has
high
expectations
for
an
Obama
administration.
What
are
reasonable
expectations
for
a
first-term
Obama
administration:
How
aggressively
would
you
push
for
Congress
to
pass
ENDA,
the
hate
crimes
bill,
repeal
of
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell,”
and
other
gay-related
bills
in
your
first
year
in
office,
and
would
you
mention
those
bills
in
your
State
of
the
Union
address?
Obama:
These
bills
are
all
important
priorities
for
me.
Senator
Biden
and
I
have
long
committed
ourselves
to
supporting
fundamental
civil
rights
for
all.
In
addition
to
the
issues
you
mentioned,
I
also
support
full
repeal
of
DOMA
to
provide
equal
federal
rights
and
benefits
to
LGBT
couples.
America
must
live
up
to
our
founding
principle
of
equality
for
all,
and
it’s
wrong
to
have
millions
of
LGBT
Americans
living
as
second‐class
citizens
in
this
nation.
I
support
these
efforts
because
I
know
that
equality
is
a
moral
imperative.
Back
when
I
was
in
the
Illinois
Senate,
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.
The
non-discrimination
bill
has
become
law
in
Illinois.
If
I
am
honored
to
serve
as
your
President,
I
will
continue
to
do
what
I’ve
done
throughout
my
career
and
in
this
campaign:
speak
out
on
behalf
of
the
cause
for
equal
justice
and
opportunity
for
LGBT
Americans.
Blade:
What
is
your
advice
to
gay
rights
activists
as
to
what
they
should
pursue
and
realistically
expect
to
pass
in
2009
with
regard
to
the
issues
listed
above?
Obama:
A
large
part
of
what
I
can
do
for
LGBT
Americans
depends
on
what
actions
Congress
takes.
That
is
why
we
need
greater
Democratic
majorities
in
both
chambers.
I
can
say
that
if
elected,
I
will
work
with
the
leaders
in
Congress
to
enact
legislation
that
will
better
protect
the
rights
of
LGBT
Americans.
I
know
ENDA
has
been
stalled
in
Congress
for
many
years,
and
I
will
work
to
pass
a
fully
inclusive
version
of
it
as
President.
Blade:
You
have
called
for
the
full
repeal
of
DOMA.
If
elected
president,
will
you
introduce
legislation
calling
for
its
repeal
during
your
first
year
in
office?
Obama:
I
have
long
been
on
record
opposing
DOMA,
and
an
Obama-Biden
administration
will
work
hard
to
ensure
that
we
can
pass
a
repeal
of
that
law
as
soon
as
possible.
Blade:
Do
you
think
repeal
of
all
of
DOMA
would,
in
fact,
prompt
Congress
to
strongly
consider
and
possibly
pass
a
constitutional
ban
on
gay
marriage?
Obama:
Again,
I
think
this
issue
ties
in
to
who
controls
Congress.
And
a
Democratic
Congress
that
enacts
a
repeal
of
DOMA
would
not
be
likely
to
pass
a
Constitutional
ban
on
gay
marriage
—
partly
because
our
party
rejects
enshrining
discrimination
and
...
