Still Undecided About Barack Obama?

A Harris Interactive poll that was just released yesterday showed that Barack Obama has a huge 68% to 10% lead over John McCain among LGBT voters. There are however, 15% of us who are still undecided.

Well maybe this will help. According to a story posted at Advocate.com today, Terry Bean, who is an Oregon Obama supporter and prominent Democratic fund-raiser said in a statement, "I was appalled that George Bush got 24% of the GLBT vote in 2000 and again in 2004 and vowed to do all that I could to prevent that from happening again with John McCain."

His idea was to develop a website that would give voters information contrasting Barack Obama's record on LGBT issues and legislation with that of John McCain. And also offer interactive functions to allow visitors to input comments and even dialogue with other visitors.

Well, he's done a lot more than that. The new, independent, website will also offer a star-studded lineup of bloggers, including such LGBT notables as former HRC executive director Elizabeth Birch, blogger Pam Spaulding, longtime activist David Mixner, and the Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson.

Site adviser Michael Crawford said "We've integrated a number of Web 2.0 tools into the LGBTFOROBAMA.com platform. Users can engage in discussions, comment on news items, post video testimonials, and tell the world why winning this election is vitally personal to them."

To access this site, go to: LGBTFOROBAMA.com

To read the Advocate story, go to: Advocate.com

Unanimous Supreme Court Decision Bars Discrimination By Doctors

In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court told doctors that they could not use their religious beliefs to withhold medical care from gays and lesbians.

According to a release by the Associated Press,

Justice Joyce Kennard wrote in the ruling that two Christian fertility doctors who refused to artificially inseminate a lesbian have neither a free speech right nor a religious exemption from the state's law, which "imposes on business establishments certain antidiscrimination obligations."

Guadalupe Benitez, 36 of Oceanside filed the original lawsuit that led to the decision. According to Ms. Benitz, the doctors who treated her with fertility drugs and then showed her how to inseminate herself at home refused to assist with the actual insemination itself because it would conflict with their religious beliefs.

Those filing friends of the court briefs backing Ms. Benitz included the American Civil Liberties Union, California Attorney General Jerry Brown, the National Health Law Program and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.

To read the AP release go to: Associate Press Release

Openly Gay Primary Winner Likely To Go To Congress

Jared Polis, a 33-year-old openly gay entrepreneur from Boulder, Colorado, who won last Tuesday's Democratic primary will very likely be elected in November.

According to Scott Adler, an associate professor of political science at the University of Colorado, “The Republicans don’t have a real shot at this one, and they know it. They would be wasting a lot of money putting dollars into this race.”

There have been five other gay and lesbian members of Congress, including current Representatives Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin who are both Democrats. If elected, Jared would become the third current openly gay or lesbian member of Congress. Ms. Baldwin and Mr. Polis would be the only two who went public with their sexuality before they were elected.

According to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund (a group that supports gay candidates for public office), Mr. Polis would be the first openly gay man elected to Congress as a nonincumbent. He would be filling Democrat Mark Udall's seat who is now running for the Senate.

“I think this sends a signal to young gays and lesbians across the country that they can consider a career in public service and they shouldn’t be scared away from that merely because of their sexual orientation,” said Mr. Polis, who introduced his partner, Marlon Reis, at Tuesday night's victory party.

Source for this story: New York Times