(Photo: Courtesy of Women for Equality Hosted by Equality Florida, photo by Vanessa Brito)
Obama issues Father’s Day Proclamation Acknowledging Gay fathers; DOJ Honors LGBT Employees
By Dmitry Rashnitsov
Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith and Deputy Director Stratton Pollitzer will be in attendance at Tuesday June 22nd’s White House reception celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama invited LGBT leaders from across the nation with a focus on state organizers and youth activists.
Equality Florida leaders took part in a briefing on LGBT Equality and used the occasion to draw attention to Florida’s anti-gay adoption law- the only state with such a law in the country. An appeals court decision, expected any day, will determine whether Florida’s law is unconstitutional or whether plaintiff Martin Gill’s adopted sons will be taken away from him. The President included recognition of gay Dads in his Father’s Day proclamation.
“We intend to bring a picture of Martin Gill’s children standing in front of the White House during the Easter Egg Roll and ask President Obama to help us end the adoption ban that tears families apart and to do it before these bans become a state-by-state ballot measures,” said Smith.
Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
President Obama has declared June “LGBT Pride Month,” issuing a proclamation urging Americans to “renew our commitment to the struggle for equal rights for LGBT Americans and ending prejudice and injustice wherever it exists.”
“Nurturing families come in many forms, and children may be raised by a father and mother, a single father, two fathers, a stepfather, a grandfather, or caring guardian,” Obama said on father’s day.
A recent study published in the latest issue of the Journal of GLBT Family Studies, showed that gay fathers were more likely to leave their jobs in order to focus on parenting their children. The study examined 40 gay dad couples who received their child through surrogacy. Another difference was that gay fathers also saw their self-esteem and relationships with their extended families greatly improve when they had children. The average age of the men in the study was 41 years old with an annual household income of $270,000.
Religious and anti-gay groups were quick to react to President Obama’s proclamation.
“It is wrong to force children into a situation where they have two men modeling immoral behavior — condemned by God and all major religions — as the most important role models in their lives,” said Peter LaBarbera from Americans for Truth about Homosexuality.
Another one of the guests that was at the White House on Tuesday was Constance McMillan, the 18-year-old high school graduate from Mississippi who was not allowed to bring her girlfriend to her prom.
Even the Department of Justice is getting into the pride filled mood. Attorney General Eric Holder recently held an event honoring all LGBT employees.
“We have much to celebrate today. In the year since we last gathered, our nation – and the Justice Department – have taken steps to address some of the unique challenges faced by members of our country’s LGBT community,” said Holder in remarks at the annual DOJ LGBT Pride Month event.
DOJ Pride was founded in 1994, and flourished when Miami’s own favorite lesbian Janet Reno was Attorney General. For more information about Equality Florida’s involvement in the White House event, visit: www.eqfl.org.
