‘Equality is a Moral Imperative’ - Martha McDevitt-Pugh

LGBT Equality under Obama

The election of Barack Hussein Obama as President of the United States on 4 November
2008 was an exhilarating moment for many in the LGBTI movement in the US and
worldwide. Obama’s election puts an end to the Bush era - eight years which saw a sea
of change for LGBT rights in many places around the globe as well as at a local and state
level in the US. While much of the world moved forward, the US government actions
seemed more consistent with the 1950s than with the 21st century.
Just how bad were the Bush years? In 2008, the United States refused to join 66 other
countries in endorsing a UN resolution condemning human rights violations based on
sexual orientation and sexual identity. Bush went so far as to call on Congress to amend
the United States constitution to enshrine discrimination against same-sex couples by
banning same-sex marriage. Whereas countries from South Africa, Canada, New Zealand,
Brazil, and Ecuador, to most of northern Europe established some form of recognition
of same-sex relationships, the USA continued to lag behind, granting same-sex couples
no recognition whatsoever.
We breathe a collective sigh of relief at the end of the Bush years. But what is next for
our community? Is this the end of a brutal period in US history, or the beginning of an
era of true equality for all?