LGBT Equality: Accomplishments of the Obama Administration
“So we are all witnesses to monumental changes in this country. That should give us hope, but we cannot rest. We must continue to do our part to make progress -- step by step, law by law, mind by changing mind. And I want you to know that in this task I will not only be your friend, I will continue to be an ally and a champion and a President who fights with you and for you.” – President Barack Obama, June 2009
- Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, expanding federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation or gender identity
- Signed the Affordable Care Act of 2010, a comprehensive overhaul of America’s health care system that will hold insurance companies accountable, lower health care costs, guarantee greater patient choice, and enhance the quality of care for all Americans; LGBT Americans are disproportionately uninsured, and this law will provide access to affordable coverage and protection from insurance companies that deny coverage for pre-existing conditions
- Lifted the discriminatory ban on entry to the United States based on HIV status
- Ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to guarantee medical decision making and visitation rights to LGBT couples
- Signed into law the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010
- Directed the Department of Justice to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court and declared Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional
- Expanded the Family Medical Leave Act to ensure that LGBT parents and partners can take leave from work to care for their child, parent, or spouse—a right afforded to any other family
- Removed a common barrier to safe housing by adding gender identity and expression in the Fair Housing Act
- Led a successful international effort to gain recognition of LGBT organizations at the United Nations
- Reversed an inexcusable U.S. position by signing the United Nations Declaration on Gay Rights, which condemns violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity worldwide
- Signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act
- Changed State Department policy so that transgender Americans can more easily obtain passports that reflect their true gender and ensure that same-sex married couples can use their legally married name on official State Department documents
- Banned job discrimination based on gender identity throughout the federal government
- Endorsed the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009 to provide full partnership benefits to federal employees
- Formed the Interagency Council on Bullying Prevention and convened the first White House Conference on Bullying Prevention and launched Stopbullying.gov, a website with resources designed to assist bullied youth and their advocates—including specific information regarding LGBT bullying
- Eliminated the discriminatory Census Bureau policy that kept LGBT relationships from being counted, encouraging couples who consider themselves married to file that way and urging transgender Americans to identify their true gender
- Hired and appointed a record number of qualified LGBT Americans, including several transgender appointees— the first president ever to do so
- Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Billie Jean King and the late Harvey Milk
- Department of Health and Human Services announces an award to Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) to establish the nation’s first LGBT seniors resource center
- Sent an administration official to the Senate to testify in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the first time any official of any administration has done so
- Hosted the first LGBT Pride Month Celebration in White House history, and after eight years of silence under the Bush administration, resumed the tradition of issuing Presidential Pride proclamations
- Department of Health and Human Services awards largest grant ever to an LGBT organization, the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center—funds go toward combating discrimination against LGBT youth in the foster care system
- President Obama, Vice President Biden, DNC, and White House staffs record “It Gets Better” videos
- Department of Labor clarified definition of “son and daughter” under the Family and Medical Leave Act to ensure that same-sex parents can receive parental rights to family leave regardless of legal or biological relationship
- President Obama’s FY 2012 Budget increases funding for LGBT community priorities including anti-bullying and safe schools, suicide prevention, and HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and access to medication
