Inspiration.

I'm so inspired by GLBT teens standing up for their equal rights.  Even in situations, like that of Derrick Martin from Georgia, the GLBT community is staying strong.  I'm am continually inspired by teens coming out and being themselves.  I am sickened by the ongoing bigotry and discrimination being seen by schools and other teens.  I hope that GLBT teens and those who support them will not be brought down by others who continue to be ignorant.  I know it is tough growing up as a teenager...I would have never been strong enough in high school to do what teens are doing now.

One more step for mankind.

One more step toward human rights and equality for ALL people.


Obama Extends Health Care Rights to Gay Partners

In a move hailed as a step toward fairness for same-sex couples, President Barack Obama is ordering that nearly all hospitals allow patients to say who has visitation rights and who can help make medical decisions, including gay and lesbian partners.

The White House on Thursday released a statement by Obama instructing his Health and Human Services secretary to draft rules requiring hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid payments to grant all patients the right to designate people who can visit and consult with them at crucial moments.

The designated visitors should have the same rights that immediate family members now enjoy, Obama’s instructions said. It said Medicare-Medicaid hospitals, which include most of the nation’s facilities, may not deny visitation and consultation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

The move was called a major step toward fairness for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

"This is a critical step in ending discrimination against LGBT families and ensuring that, in the event of a hospital stay, all Americans have the right to see their loved ones," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

The new rules, Obama said, should "guarantee that all patients’ advance directives, such as durable powers of attorney and health care proxies, are respected," and that patients’ designees be able to "make informed decisions regarding patients’ care."

Some gay advocacy groups say Obama has moved too slowly to fulfill campaign promises to expand their civil rights. The nation’s top military leaders recently said it is time to end the "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy that has kept gays from serving openly in the armed services.

The Human Rights Campaign, which backs gay rights, called Obama’s decision an "important action" that was inspired in part by a New York Times article about a lesbian couple in Miami. They were kept apart while one lay dying in a hospital despite having an "advanced health care directive" asking for full visitation rights for each other.

"Discrimination touches every facet of the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, including at times of crisis and illness," said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "The president’s action today will help ensure that the indignities" suffered by the Miami patient and her children will not happen to others.

In his statement, Obama said: "Every day, all across America, patients are denied the kindnesses and caring of a loved one at their sides - whether in a sudden medical emergency or a prolonged hospital stay. Often, a widow or widower with no children is denied the support and comfort of a good friend."

He added: "Also uniquely affected are gay and lesbian Americans who are often barred from the bedsides of the partners with whom they may have spent decades of their lives - unable to be there for the person they love, and unable to act as a legal surrogate if their partner is incapacitated."

Without the expanded visitor-designation rights, Obama said, "all too often, people are made to suffer or even to pass away alone, denied the comfort of companionship in their final moments while a loved one is left worrying and pacing down the hall."

I mean it's about the small successes, right?  It'll take a bunch of small steps until we get to our final goal.   I won't even attempt to begin my rant about not understanding how others don't see that unequal rights is discrimination.

As we have positive steps in the right direction, we have people like this influencing and warping peoples' minds and hindering the mission for EQUAL rights.  This absolutely makes me sick.

I adore ellen and portia.

But I especially love Portia in this interview from the view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo01icF3jJU

She could not have said it any better.  I'm beyond frustrated by the fact that Americans continually make gay rights an issue of religion and other bullshit.  People used to make segregation a religious issue too.  It's completely unfair and prejudicial.  And I am not sure that I have ever seen a cuter couple than Ellen and Portia.  Plus I adore Ellen's show and Arrested Development :)

I'm really not the biggest fan of republicans.

The following article can be found at:  http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/101309/new_503995790.shtml

Broun blasts Nobel Prize, hate-crime amendment

Congressman addresses Clarke GOP

President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize shows that the award is "a farce," U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Athens, said Monday.

Obama was awarded the prize Friday after just nine months in office, shocking even many of his most ardent supporters.

"To me, it just shows that the Nobel Peace Prize has become a farce," said Broun, a harsh and frequent critic of the president.

Speaking to a group of Clarke County Republicans, Broun said the Nobel committee is pursuing its own political agenda. He pointed to other winners such as former Vice President Al Gore, who won for publicizing climate change, and former President Jimmy Carter, who won for his humanitarian work.

"The Nobel committee is looking toward people who have a very liberal bent, and they see in Barack Obama somebody who is articulating the type of philosophy that they believe in, so they gave him the prize," Broun said.

The five-member committee, which is elected by the Norwegian Parliament, said it gave Obama the prize for his diplomatic efforts and desire to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Reaction to the prize Friday was mixed. Many Democrats admitted Obama has not done much yet to deserve the award, but believe he eventually will live up to it. Some Republicans simply congratulated him, while others used the news to paint him as the darling of the international left.

Broun also criticized Democratic leaders for attaching unrelated hate-crimes language to a funding bill for the military that passed the House of Representatives on Thursday.

The bill, which is expected to pass the Senate and be signed into law, adds gays to the list of federally protected groups and strengthens penalties for physically attacking a person over sexual orientation. Supporters say it will help prevent violence like the death of Matthew Shepard, a gay 21-year-old man who was tortured and murdered in Montana in 1998. According to FBI statistics, 1,460 crimes were motivated by sexual orientation in 2007, the most recent year on record.

Broun said Democrats only folded the hate-crimes bill into the $681 billion defense bill because they knew it would not pass by itself. He said he voted against the defense bill in hopes of defeating it so the House leadership would remove the hate-crimes language.

"It's going to create a situation where one person's life, one person's property, is going to be considered more valuable than someone else's just because of their sexual orientation," he said. "That's not right. We're all supposed to be equal under the law."

The bill passed the House 281-146 on Thursday. All seven Georgia Republican congressmen voted against it.

Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Ok...please note this final quote from the amazing Paul Broun:  "That's not right. We're all supposed to be equal under the law."  Interesting concept Mr. Broun brings up.  I would assume, being the fair person that I am, that "equal under the law" would mean ALL having equal rights.  Wouldn't this mean the equal right to marriage?  What a concept!  I like that.  The rest of his ridiculous biggot comments...I do not like.  Obviously he doesn't understand the meaning of all being equal.  I really can't understand why ANYONE of any political party, race, gender, background, etc. would ever want to exclude something from being considered a hate crime??  I mean wow...that's radical in my opinion.  But hey, that is my opinion :)  I won't get on my soapbox at the moment.

And props to K for posting the article on FB and inspiring this post (which pretty much points out exactly what she said :p )