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Kerry Eleveld, The Advocate: View from the Hill-A Presidential Invitation
What we need Washington to realize is something I heard John Berry, the highest ranking gay official in the Obama administration, proclaim at the Velvet Foundation event: “Our story is the American story!” he exclaimed, sweeping his clenched fist through the air. Seems so simple and yet it washed over me like a revelation. I guess that’s because until very recently, America has swept our history under the rug. LGBT concerns weren’t worthy of being reported on, they were only relevant to the national political framework insofar as they could whip up money or votes, and it was OK to meet with gays behind closed doors but standing up for them publicly was lunacy.
This coming Monday, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans from the across the country will attend a White House reception to celebrate the birth of our equality movement 40 years ago. In front of LGBT advocates, the White House press corps, and a national audience, President Barack Obama – among the most eloquent of national leaders in our history – will have an opportunity to make our story the American story. And if he takes the invitation to help orient America on the path toward our equality, the arc of the nation’s moral universe would further its bend in the just direction.
