Just in time for Pride month, President Obama launched his official LGBT outreach efforts last week. 

His LGBT campaign will be hosted on barackobama.com/lgbt, a section of his campaign site dedicated to LGBT issues, endorsements and activism efforts. He’ll have voter registration drives at Pride events nationwide as well as phone banks and house parties in a number of different states.

Joe Solmonese, outgoing president of HRC, told reporters on a conference call that Obama is clearly the candidate for the LGBT community:

While the president signed into law an LGBT hate crimes law and repealed the military’s anti-gay ban known as “Don’t Ask, Don’ Tell,” Solmonese noted that Romney has said he would not have repealed DADT and is in favor of seeing an amendment banning same-sex marriage be added to the U.S. Constitution.

“The choice we are facing could not be clearer. We can re-elect a leader working with our community. Or we can sit back and watch Mitt Romney take us back to where we started,” said Solmonese.

A measure that would allow same-sex couples to enter into civil unions is making progress in Brazil.

The bill passed through a human rights committee in Brazil’s Congress, where it’s been held up for 16 years. The measure would change Brazil’s civil unions law from saying such unions are between a man and a woman to being between two people. 

This may pave the way for marriage equality in Brazil as well, as state courts have allowed some civil unions to become full-fledged marriages. The bill needs to pass other Senate committees before going to a full vote. 

Woo! 

A federal judge ruled yesterday that a provision of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional because it limits same-sex spouses of state workers in getting insurance. 

DOMA recognizes marriage as between one man and one woman, keeping legally married same-sex spouses from obtaining some federal benefits. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ruled that benefits like insurance must be made equally available to same-sex and opposite-sex spouses. Wilken is the second trial judge in the U.S. District Court for Northern California to strike down that section of DOMA. 

Wilken issued her ruling in a lawsuit filed against the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, known as CalPERS, by same-sex couples. The system has refused to let gay spouses enroll in its federally approved insurance program on the ground that they were excluded by DOMA.

Wilken said the DOMA ban violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal treatment. She wrote that there was no proof the DOMA provision was “rationally related to a legitimate government interest.”

It’s only a matter of time before it’s gone for good. 

President Joyce Banda, the new president of Malawi, announced recently that she planned to repeal national laws that criminalize homosexuality. But citizens of the country, especially those in religious and evangelical communities, are not thrilled by her stance. 

Many Malawians consider homosexuality unnatural and immoral, an opinion especially prominent among evangelicals. Those who support upholding the criminal status of “homosexual acts” say the president should consult with the people before taking any action.

“There is need for proper consultation before the law if referred back to the Malawi Law Society and then Parliament, says Mr. Mayaya. “Malawians need to be consulted. Over the years, the church has also made its stand on this sticky issue very clear. I feel Malawians have the right to discuss what constitutes different sexual orientations before a law is put in place.”

The Department of Justice yesterday finalized a rule against sexual assault in federal prisons, making a specific note to protect LGBT people.

LGBT people, especially trans people, are considered more vulnerable to prison rape than other groups. This rule is the first federal attempt to set standards at different jail facilities, and it requires that training and screening protocols be sensitive to the unique needs of LGBT and gender non-conforming people. 

More from the Washington Blade:

“Sexual violence, against any victim, is an assault on human dignity and an affront to American values,” President Obama wrote in a memorandum accompanying the announcement. “The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) was enacted with bipartisan support and established a ‘zero tolerance standard’ for rape in prisons in the United States.”

The standards include specialized training for prison staff and screenings in detention settings to determine if LGBT inmates are at higher risk for being targeted for sexual abuse. The new rule has particular impact on transgender inmates. Agencies must train security staff on respectful searches of transgender inmates; transgender people can’t be assigned to a male or female facility based solely on their anatomy; and transgender inmates will be given the opportunity to shower separately from other inmates.

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, but it did not approve a portion of the measure that specifically protected LGBT victims of violence.

VAWA, as it’s abbreviated, “organizes federal funding” to allow greater access to investigation of domestic violence and sexual assault cases and more support services for victims. A version passed in the Senate included provisions specific to the LGBT community, but the House excluded this portion, as well as a portion protecting Native Americans and undocumented immigrants.

HRC president Joe Solmonese said House Republicans were putting politics ahead of the well being of domestic abuse victims. “It is unfortunate – though not surprising – that some lawmakers refuse to acknowledge the basic dignity and respect LGBT domestic violence victims deserve,” he said in a statement shortly after the vote. “These lawmakers are leaving victims out in the cold with nowhere to turn for help, and attempting to further stigmatize many of the stereotypes associated with domestic abuse. We urge lawmakers to work together in conference so that VAWA is inclusive of all victims of domestic abuse.”

Ugh. We keep coming so close to making real progress and then things like this happen again. Disappointed. 

The White House has formally spoken out against House Republican legislation that would keep LGBT people from being protected against discrimination. 

In one formal statement, the administration posits that the anti-gay sections of a proposed defense bill are potentially unconstitutional and even threatens to veto the measure entirely. In another, the White House threatens to veto House Republicans’ version of a measure reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. 

Among other things, the White House objects to the lack of non-discrimination language for LGBT people seeking help from domestic violence programs that receive federal funds.

“The bill also fails to include language that would prohibit discrimination against LGBT victims in VAWA grant programs,” the statement says. “No sexual assault or domestic violence victim should be beaten, hurt, or killed because they could not access needed support, assistance, and protection.”

I daresay it looks like the president is starting to practice what he preaches. (Or maybe he’s always practiced and is just starting to preach?)

The governor of Rhode Island announced yesterday that the state would begin to recognize marriages between two people of the same sex performed in other states. 

Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed an order directing state agencies to treat opposite-sex and same-sex marriages equally, including in matters like health and life insurance and other benefits. Rhode Island allows civil unions but bans marriage equality. More on benefits:

The executive order is expected to have many real-world implications. Same-sex spouses of state employees and anyone covered by an insurance company regulated in Rhode Island will be entitled to health and life insurance benefits, gay rights advocates say.

Both partners in a same-sex couple will be able to list their names as parents on a child’s birth certificate, and same-sex couples will be entitled to sales tax exemptions on the transfer of property including vehicles.

Woohoo! Honestly, isn’t this just the first step towards making marriage equality a reality here too? Let’s make it happen.