Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Barack Obama's LGBT Agenda on Change.gov

I hope Obama really pulls through. I'm happy the LGBT community has a section on his chage.gov website. :)
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Support for the LGBT Community
"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."
-- Barack Obama, June 1, 2007
The Obama-Biden Plan
·   Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. Barack Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.
·   Fight Workplace Discrimination: Barack Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. Obama also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
·   Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.
·   Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: Barack Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.
·   Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: Barack Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. Obama will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.
·   Expand Adoption Rights: Barack Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.
·   Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, Barack Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. Obama will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. Obama also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia -- that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. He will continue to speak out on this issue as president.
·   Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. Barack Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.

Saturday, November 08, 2008

Video My Vote

Now that I work at YouTube, I thought it would be appropriate to video my vote. I don't really do that much in terms of videos, mainly still photography. Maybe I'll beef up my video editing skills one day.

Anywho, I woke up at 6:30am so I could vote before going to work. I got to the polling place, Sunnyvale's Crosswalk Community Church, around 7:10am, already arriving to a line. It took about 50 minutes from beginning to end. Of course I voted No on Prop 4 & 8 and Mr. Obama for President!

Here is a video of my experience, running a little over 3 minutes long.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Official Statement from MySpace's Tom on Political Proposition Ads

As many are aware, certain proposition ads were blasted on advertising networks near election season. People were offended and uncomfortable. MySpace's Tom DeLonge wrote an email to his users that reads:
MySpace supports equality. I personally have always welcomed diversity as part of the very fabric of the MySpace community. Over the last few days, ads related to various political propositions that spoke in direct conflict to that ran on our site. These ads came through a third party ad network and we worked to immediately remove them. Like most websites, we do not always have a direct relationship with advertisers that use the ad network, so it was difficult to get them removed. As we fought to remove one advertiser, another would pop up immediately after. I'd like to apologize to anyone who was offended by these advertisement and you have my commitment that we will continue to work to prevent similar happenings in the future. MySpace is for everyone, and we do not want to offend our users by running ads that make them feel uncomfortable.

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Former 49'ers Quarterback, Steve Young, Sports 'No On 8' Signs Outside Home


Former San Francisco 49'ers Quarterback, Steve Young, puts up several 'No On Prop 8' signs outside his Palo Alto home.

Interestingly enough, he's Mormon. His wife apparently donated $50,000 to No On Prop 8.

Watch the CBS 5 Video Here:
http://cbs5.com/video/?id=41267@kpix.dayport.com

Saturday, November 01, 2008

No on Hate, No on Prop 8 - Cupertino, CA Rally 11.1.08

A large contingent of No on Prop 8 supporters stood out in the rain to get out the word on No on 8. We stood at 4 corners at the intersection of Stelling & Stevens Creek. We had representation from Campbell City Council Member Evan Low, Cupertino Mayor Dolly Sandoval, Vice Mayor of Mountain View Margaret Abe-Koga, Congressman Mike Honda and Paul Fong. We got lots of love and honks. A few haters, but that's to be expected.

Pictures on Facebook








Congressman Mike Honda speaks out against Proposition 8




Cupertino Mayor Dolly Sandoval Speak Out Against Proposition 8