THE WHITE HOUSEObama continues below the fold.Office of the Press Secretary
___________________________________For Immediate Release October 28, 2009
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT RECEPTION COMMEMORATING THE ENACTMENT OF THE MATTHEW SHEPARD AND JAMES BYRD, JR. HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT
East Room
5:45 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much, everybody. Thank you so much, and welcome to the White House.
There are several people here that I want to just make mention of because they helped to make today possible. We've got Attorney General Eric Holder. (Applause.) A champion of this legislation, and a great Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. (Applause.) My dear friend, senior Senator from the great state of Illinois, Dick Durbin. (Applause.) The outstanding Chairman of Armed Services, Carl Levin. (Applause.) Senator Arlen Specter. (Applause.) Chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the House, Representative John Conyers. (Applause.) Representative Barney Frank. (Applause.) Representative Tammy Baldwin. (Applause.) Representative Jerry Nadler. (Applause.) Representative Jared Polis. (A pplause.) All the members of Congress who are here today, we thank you.
Mr. David Bohnett and Mr. Tom Gregory and the David Bohnett Foundation -- they are partners for this reception. Thank you so much, guys, for helping to host this. (Applause.)
And finally, and most importantly, because these were really the spearheads of this effort -- Denis, Judy, and Logan Shepard. (Applause.) As well as Betty Byrd Boatner and Louvon Harris -- sisters of James Byrd, Jr. (Applause.)
To all the activists, all the organizers, all the people who helped make this day happen, thank you for your years of advocacy and activism, pushing and protesting that made this victory possible.
Yogt;You know, as a nation we've come far on the journey towards a more perfect union. And today, we've taken another step forward. This afternoon, I signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. (Applause.)
This is the culmination of a struggle that has lasted more than a decade. Time and again, we faced opposition. Time and again, the measure was defeated or delayed. Time and again we've been reminded of the difficulty of building a nation in which we're all free to live and love as we see fit. But the cause endured and the struggle continued, waged by the family of Matthew Shepard, by the family of James Byrd, by folks who held vigils and led marches, by those who rallied and organized and refused to give up, by the late Senator Ted Kennedy who fought so hard for this legislation -- (applause) -- and all who toiled for years to reach this day.
You understood that we must stand against crimes that are meant not only to break bones, but to break spirits -- not only to inflict harm, but to instill fear. You understand that the rights afforded every citizen under our Constitution mean nothing if we do not protect those rights -- both from unjust laws and violent acts. And you understand how necessary this law continues to be.
In the most recent year for which we have data, the FBI reported roughly 7,600 hate crimes in this country. Over the past 10 years, there were more than 12,000 reported hate crimes based on sexual orientation alone. And we will never know how many incidents were never reported at all.
And that's why, through this law, we will strengthen the protections against crimes based on the color of your skin, the faith in your heart, or the place of your birth. We will finally add federal protections against crimes based on gender, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation. (Applause.) And prosecutors will have new tools to work with states in order to prosecute to the fullest those who would perpetrate such crimes. Because no one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hands of the person they love. No one in America should be forced to look over their shoulder because of who they are or because they live with a disability.
At root, this isn't just about our laws; this is about who we are as a people. This is about whether we value one another
-- whether we embrace our differences, rather than allowing them to become a source of animus. It's hard for any of us to imagine the mind-set of someone who would kidnap a young man and beat him to within an inch of his life, tie him to a fence, and leave him for dead. It's hard for any of us to imagine the twisted mentality of those who'd offer a neighbor a ride home, attack him, chain him to the back of a truck, and drag him for miles miles until he finally died.
But we sense where such cruelty begins: the moment we fail to see in another our common humanity -- the very moment when we fail to recognize in a person the same fears and hopes, the same passions and imperfections, the same dreams that we all share.
We have for centuries strived to live up to our founding ideal, of a nation where all are free and equal and able to pursue their own version of happiness. Through conflict and tumult, through the morass of hatred and prejudice, through periods of division and discord we have endured and grown stronger and fairer and freer. And at every turn, we've made progress not only by changing laws but by changing hearts, by our willingness to walk in another's shoes, by our capacity to love and accept even in the face of rage and bigotry.
In April of 1968, just one week after the assassination of Martin Luther King, as our nation mourned in grief and shuddered in anger, President Lyndon Johnson signed landmark civil rights legislation. This was the first time we enshrined into law federal protections against crimes motivated by religious or racial hatred -- the law on which we build today.
As he signed his name, at a difficult moment for our country, President Johnson said that through this law "the bells of freedom ring out a little louder." That is the promise of America. Over the sounds of hatred and chaos, over the din of grief and anger, we can still hear those ideals -- even when they are faint, even when some would try to drown them out. At our best we seek to make sure those ideals can be heard and felt by Americans everywhere. And that work did not end in 1968. It certainly does not end today. But because of the efforts of the folks in this room -- particularly those family members who are standing behind me -- we can be proud that that bell rings even louder now and each day grows louder still.
So thank you very much. God bless you and God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
END 5:53 P.M. EDT
Or when you don't even have enough for a softball team?
Anyways, here's No On 1's Jesse Connolly, speaking to the press and taking questions, post-"rally":
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From AmericaBlog's Joe Sudbay come 3 treasures...
First up, PornoPetey: Homosexuality is the elephant in the room"
Below the fold, some sh*t video clips that are gonna be damned hard for the Portland Diocese and SFMM's Marc Mutty (who was strangely absent/replaced in tonight's televised live debate against Mary Bonauto, with no explanation given!) to "scrape off the bottom of their shoes..."
Here's Paul Madore saying that the very noticeably absent SFMM gang/ Diocese was indeed informed beforehand about the poorly attended rally!
Another Paul Madore assertion: "We're in a union with the Diocese and Stand For Marriage Maine Crowd"
Ah, worse than a bad blind date, aren't they? Poor Mutty, how are you gonna explain THIS away in the morning press?
Whidbey left the following comment on my blog yesterday:Posted by Whidbey at 10/27/09 8:46 a.m.There are hardly words to express how touching this story is. It immediately brought tears to my eyes. As so many of us are working around the clock to make sure referendum 71 is approved, this moment gives us pause. It reminds us why we are doing what we do. Whidbey's mom did not live long enough to see a world where all people are treated equally, but as part of her legacy she wanted to use her last moments of energy towards that goal.My 73 year old mother, voted for R71 last week as she lay in her hospice bed. She wanted to make sure that if she did not live till election day, that her vo her vote would be registered in favor. Last night, at 5:05 pm, she died peacefully. Her R71 ballot was the last document that she attached her signature to.
I thought of my Grandmother, who passed away in 2008 when I saw Whidbey's comment. She developed Alzheimers just as I came out. She met my partner and I remember her asking once when he left the room to use the bathroom, "he is special to you, isn't he?"
I replied, "yes he means a lot to me, and I hope to spend the rest of my life with him."
She said, "Well you deserve to. He is a wonderful person." When he returned from the bathroom she had already forgotten the conversation. "Hi, I'm Helen. Have we met?"
Her birthday was in September, so I visited her grave to leave flowers. I meditated there for a moment and wondered what she would think of this fight. I wondered what she would say to comfort me the way she did when I was a child. She never hated anyone in her life, so her kindness and gentle attitude would have been a gift to us all. For a moment, I wished as people do at cemeteries, for a sign that she was watching. It started to rain.
As I drove away I thought, "I hope you are proud of me, because you meant the world to me." The rain stopped and an enormous rainbow spanned across the sky appearing to land directly on my grandmother's grave. In that moment my atheist tendencies were challenged. I felt loved.
It is important to take pause and think of all the people who love us. These campaigns are emotionally challenging for the LGBT community. On a daily basis we face our opponent's attacks. They say we are less than human, deserve to go to hell, and in some cases they say we should be killed. And then after months of enduring the onslaught of anger, the entire state votes on our worthiness to society and whether we should have the simple right to care for our families in times of crisis. Nationally, our community always loses these races -- reaffirming the anger that so violently attacks our psyche and our families.
Our country is evolving, though. I firmly believe that this year may be the year we make history by approving referendum 71 to keep the domestic partnership law. As our neighbors are voting on our right to care for our families, I am making the conscious choice to tune out our opponents hate and focus entirely on all the wonderful people who love our community. When times get rough, think of Whidbey's mom. Feel her love. I don't know who she is, or what the rest of her life was like, but I know she would be proud of us. I know she cared enough to use her name one last time for good. For that she will be immortal in my heart, as I am sure she will be for many of you.
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