Human Rights Campaign Applauds Obama Administration for Supporting UN Declaration Affirming Human Rights of LGBT People

Some amazing news is coming off of the HRC wire. This is the change we can believe in:

Human Rights Campaign Applauds Obama Administration for Supporting UN Declaration Affirming Human Rights of LGBT People

Bush administration had previously refused to sign



WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, issued a statement today on the Obama administration’s announcement that it formally endorsed a United Nations declaration calling for an end to discrimination and other human rights abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The move is a reversal of the Bush administration’s refusal to sign the statement, which made the United States the only western nation not to support the measure when presented by the U.N. General Assembly in December.



“This is a welcome step forward as it signals to the world that, after years of a hostile administration, the United States recognizes the humanity of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people at home and abroad,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “We applaud the Obama administration for joining the other 66 member nations that have officially recognized that basic human rights include the equality of LGBT people.”



“The United States supports the U.N.'s statement on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity and is pleased to join the other 66 U.N. member states who have declared their support of the statement,” the State Department said in a statement released today. “The United States is an outspoken defender of human rights and critic of human rights abuses around the world. As such, we join with other supporters of this statement, and we will continue to remind countries of the importance of respecting the human rights of all people in all appropriate international fora.”



In December, HRC was a vocal critic of the Bush administration’s refusal to sign the declaration. Nearly 2,500 HRC members called the State Department urging it support the declaration. HRC also released a joint statement denouncing the Vatican’s opposition to the declaration. The statement, which was signed by faith program directors from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and National Black Justice Coalition, can be found read online by visiting, http://www.hrc.org/news/11728.htm.

Grassroots push for gay Cabinet member

Some in the LGBT community believe that one way to exemplify LGBT equality is for President-Elect Obama to nominate an LGBT person to the Cabinet. Some see Gov. Bill Richardson's exit as an opportunity the NY Blade reports:

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s decision to quit his nomination as commerce secretary has prompted activist groups to ask President-elect Barack Obama to name an openly gay official to the post.

The vacancy, announced earlier this week, gives Obama an opportunity to nominate a gay person to his Cabinet, something that transition officials have heavily hinted would happen in private meetings with gay rights activists.
Some of those activists publicly expressed their disappointment and frustration when Obama failed to include a gay nominee after making his final Cabinet picks.

Richardson, who initially competed against Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination but later endorsed him, withdrew as the commerce secretary nominee amidst a federal investigation into how his political donors landed a transportation contract in New Mexico.

According to the Associated Press, a grand jury is looking into possible dealings between CDR Financial Products, a national capital markets group, and someone in a position to push contracts through New Mexico’s state government.

You can find the rest of the article after the jump...