The Best Parts of Cheney's, Clinton's and Obama's Statements on LGBT Rights

categories: Election 2008, Gay Marriage, International Gay Rights, LGBT Rights and Politics, LGBT Youth, Marriage Equality, Obama Administration and Gay Rights

Published June 01, 2009 @ 08:50PM PT

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Today being the first day of Pride Month, lots of people were talking about LGBT rights. First up was former Vice President (and waterboarding enthusiast) Dick Cheney, who spoke today at the National Press Club and used the occasion to signal his support (albeit kind of tepid support) for marriage equality.

Then came Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who issued a statement just minutes before the POTUS's press office issued a statement themselves, with President Obama signing a proclamation marking June 2009 officially LGBT pride month.

Below we pick out the best parts of each of their statements. If you click on the link in their names, you can read (or in the case of Cheney, watch) their entire statements. Enjoy. First day of Pride Month, and already, the nation's political leaders are talking about LGBT rights.

Dick Cheney: "As many of you know, one of my daughters is gay and it is something we have lived with for a long time in our family. I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish. Any kind of arrangement they wish. The question of whether or not there ought to be a federal statute to protect this, I don't support. I do believe that the historically the way marriage has been regulated is at the state level. It has always been a state issue and I think that is the way it ought to be handled, on a state-by-state basis. ... But I don't have any problem with that. People ought to get a shot at that."

Hillary Clinton: "Gays and lesbians in many parts of the world live under constant threat of arrest, violence, even torture. The persecution of gays and lesbians is a violation of human rights and an affront to human decency, and it must end. As Secretary of State, I will advance a comprehensive human rights agenda that includes the elimination of violence and discrimination against people based on sexual orientation or gender identity."

Barack Obama: "The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect....NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists."

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Comments (8)

Very interesting, they give us a month about our struggles then they tell us to settle for second class status or none at all.

"The question of whether or not there ought to be a federal statute to protect this, I don't support." -Dick Cheny

This is rather frustrating to hear, but then again people like Dick have a lot of skeletons in his closet. It's too bad he makes his daughter out to be one of them. The only thing I could possibly think to ask Dick is... Why? Why shouldn't we have federal recognition of our marriage rights in states that recognize are marriages for what they are? Granted some states can have up to 800 or more rights for marriage, none replace the 1138 federal rights.

As a person who is studying to be a medical examiner I will most likely be working as a civilian with the military or for the FBI. Those are federal institutions where my marriage will not be recognized. But most importantly, even if we get married, say in NY; when it happens, because Ruben is from Finland, once his visa expires he must go back or face deportation and fines. I could face fines or jail, and most likely lose my career, just because the federal government's "Alice in wonderland" logic says they shouldn't support my marriage.

How wonderfully idiotic it will be in 20 years when all 50 states have marriage equality and the government still wont federally recognize those marriages. This issue of injustice towards LGBT has become the main reason why my European friends, and family members make the US out to be the butt end of jokes. Honestly the more the politicians open their mouths, and not their minds the funnier those jokes seem to be.

Posted by Chris Marshall on 06/02/2009 @ 06:23AM PT
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Hollow speech from the segregationist-in-chief, still insisting on civil unions and refusing to act on DADT (via an executive order that could at least put a stop to LGBT soldiers' dismissals while the repeal is worked on in Congress).. About time we followed the Latinos' example and demanded action (they demanded action from day one and already got Sotomayor).

Posted by Tim Kopp on 06/02/2009 @ 09:35AM PT
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Are you kidding me???? This is the big GLBT news we've all be waiting for. Well, I think our President is about 40 years too late, because we've been celebrating Pride with or without his blessing!!! I don't need to have my intelligence insulted by offering a crumb of nothing for second class status.

Posted by Chris Beck on 06/02/2009 @ 11:47AM PT
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Amen, to all of the above. I am already a "gay senior". I live my life with dignity and frankly don't give a damn about President Obama's or anyone else's respect. Yes, the proclamation is too little too late.

Posted by Gary Allmon on 06/02/2009 @ 12:29PM PT
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You know, I read all of these statements yesterday (from Cheney, Clinton, and Obama), but I figured I would let them completely sink in before commenting on them.

Cheney - well, what else did anyone else expect? At least HE can say that he supports his daughter. NOT one of my family members voted against Prop 8 here in California, or Prop 102 in Arizona (which was AZ's version of Prop 8.) NOT ONE!

Clinton - I'm not sure. Although she has done more for the LGBT community (as it pertains to the State Department.) One thing that needs to be given credit where it is due is that extending the same benefits to domestic partners of State Department employees is a step in the right direction, all of this could easily be solved by the Whitehouse repealing DOMA and make marriage available to same-sex couples.

Now Obama! - He ended his proclamation with, "I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists." My problem is that with this statement he is a hypocrite. What about HIS prejudice and continued allowance of the institutional discrimination that is enshrined in our federal laws? In his speech, "A More Perfect Union," he stated that our Constitution was tainted because it allowed for the enshrined institutional discrimination and prejudice in the form of slavery and the counting of those slaves as 3/5 of a person.

Now please NOBODY misunderstand what I'm saying, I am NOT equating our struggle to that of African-Americans or of their ancestors because when it comes to the amount of violence and discrimination that the African-American community faced or continue to face there really is comparison. However, while there is no US Constitutional ban on marriage equality for same-sex couples, there are federal laws (DOMA, DADT) that prevents us from achieving full equality under the law. And the longer those laws stay on the books, many within the LGBT community will see our country as being tainted just as our Black brothers and sisters have seen our country as being tainted.

While many of us can hide our sexual orientation, there are many who cannot. But one thing is for certain; discrimination and prejudice, no matter what form they take, whether it be against race, gender, sexual orientation or sexual identity is still discrimination and prejudice. When that discrimination and prejudice is written into our laws it weakens our Republic because it creates a second-class citizenry.

Posted by Dave Hershey on 06/02/2009 @ 05:32PM PT
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OOPS! This part "all of this could easily be solved by the Whitehouse repealing DOMA and make marriage available to same-sex couples."

SHOULD HAVE READ - "all of this could easily be solved by the Whitehouse urging Congress to repeal DOMA and make marriage available to same-sex couples."

Posted by Dave Hershey on 06/02/2009 @ 05:34PM PT
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It's great that President Obama has proclaimed June to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride month. In addition, because he hasn't really gotten publicly involved in LGBT rights during his presidency until this moment. Furthemore, it's good that Dick Cheney is open to marriage equality and it's also good that Hillary Clinton strongly supports LGBT rights. Equality must be demanded because intolerance is meritless.

Posted by Edwin Bonilla on 06/02/2009 @ 05:45PM PT
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Words are cheap. I'll believe it when I see some "change."

Posted by Jennifer Brill on 06/03/2009 @ 08:58AM PT
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Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.