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Category: LGBT

A milestone for transgender equality

By Joseph Vellone on September 15, 2012 LGBT Groups LGBT for Obama
One year ago today, under President Obama's leadership, the Social Security Administration (SSA) put an end to the gender verification process that disproportionately impacted transgender workers across the country. Under the policy, the SSA would issue “gender no-match” letters to employers when the gender marker of an employee’s W-2 form did not match SSA records. The verification process was initially designed to ensure that employees had a valid social security number for employment; however, the policy of verifying gender markers cost many transgender workers their jobs and ultimately proved unnecessary as alternative identity verification processes were developed.

Under the policy, transgender employees whose employers received “gender no-match” letters were often subject to invasive questions regarding medical information and gender identity, and made vulnerable to discrimination and termination. Lacking clear federal employment protection from discrimination based on gender identity, many transgender employees who were outed by the SSA were forced to confront their employers and co-workers in order to keep their jobs. The National Center for Transgender Equality reported that 711,488 no-match letters were issued in 2010 alone.

One year after the policy’s repeal, transgender workers can do their jobs without fear of being outed by gender no-match letters, and employers are able to retain hard-working transgender employees. Learn more about how President Obama’s administration has fought for LGBT Americans since he took office, and show your support by committing to vote.

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Romney-Ryan would drag us backward

By Jamie Citron, National LGBT Vote Director on August 16, 2012 LGBT
When Mitt Romney chose Paul Ryan as his running mate, he reaffirmed his ticket's opposition to LGBT equality.

I'll be frank with you: A Romney-Ryan victory would roll back the progress our community has fought for and won over the past two decades. Ryan, the man who might be a heartbeat away from the presidency, has voted time and again against LGBT equality. He doesn't accept our community as equals.

We can't let them drag us backwards. If you're on Facebook, share this image, then join Obama Pride on Dashboard, our online field office, and help keep LGBT rights moving forward.

Ryan has voted to ban same-sex marriage—like Romney, he supports enshrining discrimination into the Constitution. He voted twice against the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act. Ryan tried to ban same-sex adoption in Washington, D.C.

He also doesn't believe that members of our community should serve in the military—he voted against the repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

The worst part? In an interview in February, he downplayed the importance of LGBT rights, saying: "I don't know why we're spending all this time talking about this."

Our community deserves leaders who respect and affirm our equality—not people who don't understand why it matters.

If this gets you fired up, share this graphic on Facebook, then join Dashboard today and help fight for the only candidate in this race who's got our backs.

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“He’s not just fighting for economic justice he’s fighting for social justice, too”

By Colin, Obama for America - New Hampshire on August 16, 2012 LGBT Groups Young Americans for Obama Equal Rights
Meet Dan Fournier, University of New Hampshire student and proud Granite Stater. He's also a member of New Hampshire's Obama Pride Steering Committee, and he shared a couple of reasons why he's supporting the President this year:

"I'm supporting the President this year because he holds the same values that I do—that every American, regardless of his or her background, has the ability to make it if they try. He's not just fighting for economic justice; he's fighting for social justice, too. The idea that everyone is equal before the law and should be treated with equal dignity and respect is codified in our Constitution, and that's something that I think President Obama embodies."

We asked if Dan thought the Romney-Ryan campaign also shared those American values that the President embodies. Here's what Dan told us:

"The Romney-Ryan campaign is touting a Constitutional amendment to make same-sex marriage both illegal and unconstitutional across the country. That's a gross violation of human rights, and their desire to spend taxpayer dollars to promote and enforce discriminatory policy shows that their hearts are rooted way in the past. This is 2012. We don't move backwards on civil rights."

It's true that this President has fought for LGBT Americans in a way that no other President has in the history of this country.

But if the President's record isn't enough for you enough for you, the extreme Romney-Ryan positions on LGBT issues (not to mention the values those positions reflect) are enough to give any moderate-minded American pause. Just how far backward do these guys want to take us?

We can't afford to find out. If you agree with Dan and support the President on equal rights for the LGBT community, get involved by joining the LGBT for Obama group on Dashboard, our online organizing office.

Join our Dashboard group

A version of this was posted August 14 on the New Hampshire state blog.
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