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In December, Congress passed and the President signed legislation to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Since then, the President has been working with former Defense Secretary Gates, current Secretary Panetta, and our military leaders, to transition America’s armed forces to the new policy – a policy that better reflects the values of our country.

Yesterday, the White House announced its support for a measure being introduced today in Congress that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) -- which currently defines marriage as a union between a man and woman.

Yesterday evening, President Obama hosted a White House reception to celebrate LGBT Pride Month. During the event, he spoke to LBGT advocates, community leaders, and allies about his administration’s efforts to bring about equality for everyone, no matter their gender or sexual orientation, and he talked about the monumental progress we’ve made so far.

As part of the “It Gets Better” campaign for LGBT youth who have been victims of bullying, Democratic Senators recorded a video to help promote the message: It does, in fact, get better.

As Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month gets started, the White House launched a new online resource: Winning the Future: President Obama and LGBT Americans. This new page will help you keep apprised of all the Obama administration is doing to advance the issues most important to the LGBT community.

Yesterday, President Obama issued a proclamation that affirmed June 2011 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month. This celebration commemorates those who have fought for equality in our communities and fairness in our justice system -- and represents the President’s ongoing effort to end discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

This week, the LGBT community received several pieces of welcome news. While President Obama was in South America, he came together with Brazilian President Rousseff to support the establishment of a special representative on LGBT issues at the Organization of American States.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that President Obama had directed them to no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court. The President has always believed DOMA, a law denying equal rights to gay and lesbian Americans because of contradictions in federal and state laws, to be discriminatory and unfair. Now, the President has directed his administration accordingly and deemed a key component of this law unconstitutional, reaffirming his continued effort to achieve greater equality for all Americans.