What a night.
The crowd is going wild here at HRC Election Headquarters. While many races have yet to be called, including ballot iniatitives in Arizona, Florida, Arkansas and California, I felt the need to tell you that tonight, we made history.
Because of you, because of everything you did, 2008 will forever be the Year We Won! Historians will point to this election as a turning point in the long struggle for civil rights. Eight years of White House hostility toward LGBT Americans are finally over. Here's what we know right now:
- We will finally have an LGBT-friendly White House: President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
- Proposition 8 vote in California is still too close to call.
- At this time, we helped elect new fair-minded allies in the Senate and in the House - including HRC endorsees Betsy Markey, Kay Hagan and cousins Tom and Mark Udall.
We can now pass critical LGBT equality measures like the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act and begin unraveling the damage of the last eight years.
HRC and its members played a bigger role in 2008 than in any previous election. HRC launched a two-year, $7 million effort to get 5 million people out to vote for equality. We trained over 500 volunteers at 17 first-of-their-kind Camp Equality trainings and 25 more through the intensive 12-week Campaign College, and they went on to work on many tight races. One-third of our staff spread out across the country, providing thousands of hours of critical staff time to key campaigns. HRC raised more money for candidates than ever before and donated nearly $3.5 million to fight Proposition 8 in California. And there's more – watch this video to see how HRC turned your support into action.
Your efforts this year were without precedent. They've enabled HRC to play a role in dozens of today's victories. And with Obama in the oval office, we can now begin securing protections that LGBT Americans have been denied so long. We recognize the profound challenges facing our nation, and we will be patient and strategic in working with the new administration to secure those protections
We are still waiting with anticipation for results from California's fight for marriage equality, where the race is still too close to call. We are also waiting on results for Arizona, Florida and Arkansas. Once the outcome is known in these states, as well as other key races, we will update you with the results. Together, we've made a profound difference in 2008. I can't thank you enough – and I can't wait to keep working with you to continue the march towards equality in 2009 and beyond.
P.S. In addition to the current lawmakers who we succeeded in re-electing, here are a few of the amazing new candidates whose victories HRC helped bring about:
- Kay Hagan of North Carolina, who overcame the 5-year fundraising advantage of opponent Elizabeth Dole and survived anti-LGBT attack mail to win the seat held by Jesse Helms for 30 years.
- Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who signed a repeal of the state's ban on gay adoption and enacted a law to ban workplace discrimination as Governor.
- Tom Udall of New Mexico, a strong supporter of a fully-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act and strong hate crimes prevention legislation.
- Mark Udall of Colorado, who earned a 100% on HRC's scorecard during his tenure in the House, and defeated former Rep. Bob Shaffer (0% HRC rating).
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President Barack Obama pledged to end the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military in a speech Saturday, but acknowledged to a cheering crowd that the policy changes he promised on the campaign trail are not coming as quickly as they expected.
"I will end 'don't ask-don't tell,'" Obama said at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights advocacy group. Obama reaffirmed his commitment to end the ban, but did not give a timetable or the specifics that some activists have called for.
The law was passed by Congress in 1993 and signed by President Bill Clinton, who also promised to repeal the ban on homosexuals in the military but was blunted by opposition in the military and Congress.
He expressed strong support for the Human Rights Campaign agenda — ending discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people — but stopped short of laying out a detailed plan for how to get there.
"My expectation is that when you look back on these years you will look back and see a time when we put a stop against discrimination ... whether in the office or the battlefield," Obama said.
Obama's political energies are focused on managing two wars, the economic crisis and his attempt to reform the health care system.
His message Saturday was one of unity and support for a group that has funneled large amounts of money into Democratic coffers.
"I'm here with a simple message: I'm here with you in that fight," Obama said.
Since Obama took office in January, some advocates have complained that Obama has not followed through on promises on issues they hold dear and has not championed their causes from the White House, including ending the ban on gays serving openly in the military and pushing tough nondiscrimination policies.
Richard Socarides, who advised President Bill Clinton's administration on gay and lesbian policy, said Obama delivered "a strong speech in tone, although only vaguely reassuring in content."
"The president and Nobel winner came and paid his respects, but tomorrow many will ask: What's his plan, what's his timetable?"
In the past, Obama has urged the gay-rights community to trust him. In June, he pointed to some initial efforts, such as a presidential memorandum he issued that expands some federal benefits to same-sex partners.
Obama publicly has previously committed himself to repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that allows gays and lesbians to serve in the military as long as they don't disclose their sexual orientation or act on it. But Obama hasn't taken any concrete steps urging Congress to rescind the policy, and his national security adviser last weekend would only say that Obama will focus on overturning it "at the right time."
Obama also pledged during the campaign to work for repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. But lawyers in his administration defended the law in a court brief. White House aides said they were only doing their jobs to back a law that was already on the books.
The gay community is somewhat split as to whether Obama should be expected to produce results right away.
The Human Rights Campaign, which invited Obama to speak at its dinner Saturday night, said it remains hopeful of seeing more action.
"He's obviously the most supportive president and has done more than any president" on behalf of the gay community, said Joe Solmonese, the group's president. He said the Obama administration has been working with the group on a range of issues "on an almost weekly and sometimes daily basis."
Rep. Barney Frank, an openly gay member of Congress, notes there has been some progress such as new hate-crimes legislation, which would make it a federal crime to assault people because of their sexual orientation. Approved by the House this week, Obama predicted it would pass the Senate and promised to sign it into law. Frank, D-Mass., also said the gay rights community understands "there is a legislative process" and progress can't happen overnight.
YOU MAY WATCH THE ENTIRE VIDEO OF PRESIDENT OBAMA - CLICK HERE
Human Rights Campaign
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