The Advocate magazine’s latest cover story features House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, one of the federal government’s leading advocates for marriage equality. She entered politics a fierce AIDS activist and hasn’t stopped fighting for LGBT rights.

This article considers Pelosi’s activist side, a side we don’t see as often in mainstream media. She’s usually pretty vocal about supporting pro-LGBT measures, like the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, but it’s no secret that President Obama doesn’t always side with her.

Most famously, he still claims his views on marriage equality are “evolving,” and she seems to believe he should evolve a little quicker:

In public, Pelosi is usually in lockstep with the president, but, true to form, she declines to discuss what conversations she may have had with Obama on same-sex marriage. But she’s pushing the DNC to help fund the fight against anti-marriage equality ballot measures in Minnesota and North Carolina as well as a campaign in Maine that aims to overturn a 2009 ballot measure that rescinded marriage rights for same-sex couples in the state. “There are more ways to get your voice heard than just speaking…. But I hope the president would just say he supports equality in marriage,” she says.

Nancy Pelosi is a really cool, really important person. Learn about her. Start here. 

By now we’ve all read over the text of President Obama’s State of the Union Address last night, analyzed Republican responses, and stood up and clapped from behind our TVs when he gave the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell a shout-out. (It was a good moment.)

We’ve also noticed that the president didn’t really say anything else about gay rights. Should he have?

Well, yeah. Here’s how. 

In the article linked above, different pro-gay organizations like the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force respond to the president’s speech. They mostly say they’re satisfied, but not completely.

A major loss that these organizations point out is Obama’s failure to identify problems in the workplace that may keep all Americans from getting into the workforce. The president said all Americans needed to mobilize to help get the economy back into shape - what about the LGBT people who can’t find jobs with substantial nondiscrimination policies?

Employment protection, benefits for domestic partners and even marriage equality all tie into this concept. If the president expects all Americans to contribute to stabilizing the economy, he should treat them all equally.

I’m happy President Obama mentioned DADT the way he did, and I understand that the economy and such were important issues to discuss. However, I really do wish he had reached out to the gay community a bit more, especially because there were so many easy ways to do so.

What do you guys think?

From an Advocate.com article. 

Statement by the President on the Senate Vote on the National Defense Authorization Act

I am extremely disappointed that yet another filibuster has prevented the Senate from moving forward with the National Defense Authorization Act. Despite having the bipartisan support of a clear majority of Senators, a minority of Senators are standing in the way of the funding upon which our troops, veterans and military families depend. This annual bill has been enacted each of the past 48 years, and our armed forces deserve nothing less this year. 

A minority of Senators were willing to block this important legislation largely because they oppose the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” As Commander in Chief, I have pledged to repeal this discriminatory law, a step supported by the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and informed by a comprehensive study that shows overwhelming majorities of our armed forces are prepared to serve with Americans who are openly gay or lesbian. A great majority of the American people agree. This law weakens our national security, diminishes our military readiness, and violates fundamental American principles of fairness, integrity and equality.

I want to thank Majority Leader Reid, Armed Services Committee Chairman Levin, and Senators Lieberman and Collins for all the work they have done on this bill. While today’s vote was disappointing, it must not be the end of our efforts. I urge the Senate to revisit these important issues during the lame duck session.

This speaks for itself. The Advocate will say it better than I will:

The Senate dealt a near-fatal blow to “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal Thursday when it failed to advance the bill to which the measure was attached, the National Defense Authorization Act, by a vote of 57-40. 

Senator Joe Lieberman and others have said they will support a stand-alone bill for DADT to be pushed through the Senate by the end of the year. President Barack Obama, the Human Rights Campaign and others have expressed support for this route.

Check the link above for details.

This is not over yet. 

In this snarky Advocate editorial, Kerry Eleveld explains the various factors contributing to the nation’s grim outlook on the future of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. 

The Democratic leadership failed from the beginning in waiting so long to address DADT, Eleveld says. Now, administration is blatantly prioritizing other matters over the repeal. 

It doesn’t help that Senate majority leader Harry Reid made virtually no time this week for debating the defense authorization bill that addresses Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, though others believe it’s a more pressing matter than, say, impeaching a judge in Louisiana. 

The current “lead” issues are also issues that will be dealt with equally effectively in a few months when we’re back to a Republican majority. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, however, needs Democratic power if it’s going to get anywhere. 

Eleveld’s strongest moment comes in when she specifically calls out the administration for their lack of action on DADT and other gay issues:

But here’s the truth: It will be a fundamental failure of leadership from the top down, starting with President Obama.

The White House chose not to address “don’t ask, don’t tell” until 2010; then they let the Pentagon set the release date of the working group study for December and make the Senate vote contingent on its review.

…

The fact is, Democratic leaders sealed their own fate on a packed calendar. If the White House and Majority Leader Reid had shown any urgency about extending tax cuts to the middle class prior to the midterms — which could have been a great campaign issue for them to tout as a win — they wouldn’t presently be backed into the corner of negotiating with the GOP to extend tax cuts for all, including the top 2% of household earners. But instead of forcing that vote, Dems adjourned early before the midterms, and once they came back, their bargaining power was in the tank after the whipping they took at the ballot box.

It saddens me to agree. I’m disappointed in our current administration for their apathy, and I hope they realize the error of their ways if and when they disappoint millions of Americans. 

A new hospital rule will allow patients in certain hospitals to designate their own visitors, including their same-sex partners.

The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that patients in any hospital that participates in Medicare or Medicaid will have this right, beginning 60 days from today. Hospitals will be required to outline specific regulations for visitation and inform their patients of these rights. 

Check the above link for details. The Advocate reports:

“Basic human rights — such as your ability to choose your own support system in a time of need — must not be checked at the door of America’s hospitals,” said the Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Today’s rules help give ‘full and equal’ rights to all of us to choose whom we want by our bedside when we are sick, and override any objection by a hospital or staffer who may disagree with us for any non-clinical reason.”

The rule change is the result of a directive that President Barack Obama gave to HHS in April after hearing stories of people who were denied access to their same-sex partners during the critical and, in some cases, final hours of their lives.

Though we can easily argue Barack Obama hasn’t been extremely responsive to gay rights causes thus far in his presidency, this is a huge measure that will have a monumental impact on same-sex couples across the country.

Hospital visitation has long been one of the most actively fought-for causes in the gay rights movement, and one with the greatest support and fewest logical opposing arguments. After all, who can deny a person the right to see their loved ones in a time of need? 

I applaud Obama’s initiative and the Centers for this incredible decision. Millions of men and women thank you.