For the first time ever, a U.S. president delivered a supportive speech on the gay civil rights movement at the Human Rights Campaign Annual Dinner last Saturday night, Oct. 10, to help kick off National Coming Out Day last Sunday, Oct. 11.
During Obama's speech on Saturday, he vowed to end the 16-year-old policy banning openly gay people from serving in the nation's military. Obama said, "I am working with the Pentagon, its leadership and members of the House and Senate to end this policy. I will end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." That is my commitment to you."
President Obama also appealed to Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines how federal and state entities see domestic partnerships in providing government assistance in their households.
The president also spoke about the Mathew Shepard Act that would make assault on people based on their sexual orientation a federal crime. Mathew Shepard was a gay man who was tortured and killed 11 years ago in Wyoming because of his sexual orientation.
Otterbein has its own special interest group for the GLBT community on campus called Freezone. Molly-Parker Smith, senior art major and president of Freezone, explained that National Coming Out Day always falls on Oct. 11, and it is a day of visibility to the public on the difficulties of coming out.
To commemorate the day, Freezone sold GLBT supportive buttons.
According to Smith, she realized she was a lesbian when she was approximately 18 years old. She came out to her mother when she was 21.
Matt Langenhop, senior creative writing English major, came out to his parents his freshman year of high school, but was still unsure if that was his true feeling. Then, in his sophomore year at Otterbein, he realized that it was okay to like both men and women and came out as a bisexual.
Langenhop's family is completely supportive, but when he first came out to them they thought he was too young to know his sexuality.
Junior Chelsea Lakeman said that she would not make the decision to be gay herself, but would not hold it against someone else.
Sam Weisgarber, a junior who attends OCF worship services, said that his personal friendships with homosexual friends have strengthened because of their honesty with him. "Christians are called to serve and love, not to condemn," Weisgarber said.
According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Web site, HRC is not satisfied with Obama's speech of promises. HRC gives President Obama until 2017 to fulfill his promises.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the president also received criticism from conservatives and some supporters who believe he should be concentrating on the nation's bigger priorities, such as high unemployment, a recession and two wars. t&c;
