Colorado responds to passage of Matthew Shepard Act

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette and Out Front Colorado editor Matt Kailey are among those who have responded to the passage of the Matthew Shepard Act.

“Everyone in this country deserves a chance to pursue the American dream free from intimidation and persecution,” said U.S. Rep. DeGette, who is Vice Chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus and cosponsor of the measure.

"The passage of the Matthew Shepard Act in the House today brings us one step closer to full equality for GLBT people by recognizing that our lives are just as valuable as anyone else's," said Kailey.

Read more about the decision at Denver Gay Examiner.

Diana DeGette's Facebook note about stem cell research reversal

Here's what Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO, awesome) had to say on Facebook yesterday about Obama's stem cell research reversal:

"I am excited that President Obama will reverse the restrictions on stem cell research today by an Executive Order, and am pleased I will be at the White House to witness the event."

DeGette co-sponsors Prevention First teen pregnancy prevention bill

Thanks for introducing this bill, Diana. After years of abstinence-only sex education and refusing to confront human sexuality, unwanted teen pregnancies and STDs are on the rise. The homosexual agenda didn't do this, folks. Homosexuals are not in the habit of producing unwanted children. We try really hard to get the kids we have. The heterosexual agenda did this, and it's time for a change.



The bottom line is that straight teenagers are going to have sex. Ignoring it isn't going to make it go away -- obviously. So let's start being realistic and giving these straight kids some real information and some real prevention tools that will keep them from ruining their lives. Right-wing Evangelicals, your way didn't work. Let's take it again from the top.

Who will take Salazar's Senate seat? You can bet it'll be someone gay friendly

The Denver Post says that Ken Salazar has accepted Obama's offer to become interior secretary . Although Salazar has been considered too conservative by some, he has been generally friendly to GLBT positions (which has little to do with Secretary of the Interior, but we take allies where we can get them--and we love the idea that a guy from Colorado, who knows national parks and natural wonders and the importance of preserving them, will be overseeing the mess that the house of Bush made).



And his appointment looks to stir up the Senate seat that he is vacating, with Mayor John Hickenlooper and Rep. Diana DeGette (pictured), among others, listed as potential replacements to serve out his term, which runs until 2010.

No GLBT-friendlier people could you find than these two. Other possibilities, including Ed Perlmutter and Andrew Romanoff, are also GLBT-friendly. It seems like, no matter who Gov. Ritter chooses for the vacant seat, our community will have two Colorado senators who support our causes.

Obama-Biden on HIV/AIDS

On a conference call with reporters on Thursday, leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS discussed how an Obama-Biden administration would provide real leadership to combat the epidemic and particularly its disproportionate impact on LGBT and African Americans. While there are many public health issues facing America, Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden will finally provide the kind of leadership on HIV/AIDS prevention, research and treatment that all Americans deserve.

“I’m really proud to support Senators Obama and Biden because they have done more than give lip service to AIDS prevention, they have worked hard to be leaders on both international and domestic AIDS prevention,” said Congresswoman Diana DeGette, Vice Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. “With the Ryan White CARE Act up for reauthorization next year and the potential to pass the Early Treatment of HIV Act, we need an administration that will work hand-in-hand with Congress to make this happen.”

More after the jump.


In contrast, “Senator McCain has shown no interest in supporting these programs, and more importantly, over the last eight years we have lost so much of the progress we made during the Clinton administration,” according to Sandra Thurman, former Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden are committed to expanding funding for research, especially for prevention options including vaccines and microbicides. Senator Obama led a bipartisan effort with Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) to introduce the Microbicide Development Act, which would accelerate the development of topical applicants that prevent transmission of HIV and other infections, empowering women in the battle against the disease.

In contrast, “Senator McCain has shown no interest in supporting these programs, and more importantly, over the last eight years we have lost so much of the progress we made during the Clinton administration”, said Sandra Thurman, former Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy.

After eight years of little progress, the stakes for reform could not be higher. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2006 more than one million Americans were infected with HIV/AIDS. In the African American community, more than 50 percent of new HIV/AIDS cases in the United States are African American males. Additionally, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses, and in 2005, men who have sex with men accounted for 71 percent of all HIV infections.

While John McCain continues to be silent about the growing number of domestic HIV/AIDS cases, Barack Obama has pledged to institute a National AIDS Strategy within his first year in office.

“Having a National AIDS Strategy, the likes of which we have never had in the history of this epidemic, will help transform the public and patient perceptions about HIV/AIDS,” said Thurman.

Jesse Milan, Jr., who has lived with AIDS for twenty-six years, applauded Senator Obama for his commitment to breaking down stereotypes and misconceptions about HIV/AIDS. Milan, the Chair of the Black AIDS Institute and Vice President and Director of Community Health Systems at the Altarum Institute, applauded Obama for inspiring many HIV/AIDS patients to live their life and not be crippled by their disease.

Milan said, “I’m so proud of Senator and Mrs. Obama for their leadership with regard to the LGBT community; the stigma of homophobia is not something that is crippling them, instead they are inspiring those of us who have been living with this disease.”






DeGette discusses new book tomorrow at Tattered Cover

Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), who has represented Denver for six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, challenges the nation's Religious Right and exposes how the Republicans and the Religious Right have politicized everything from sex, reproduction, and science for pure political gain in her new book, 'Sex, Science, and Stem Cells: Inside the Right Wing Assault on Reason' by Congresswoman Diana DeGette with Daniel Paisner. DeGette will appear at the Tattered Cover (LoDo); 1628 16th Street in Denver on Thursday, August 14th at 7:30pm. The event will include a photo-op with the press, followed by a talk, Q&A, and book signing. C-Span 2 "Book TV" is scheduled to cover the presentation for airing shortly thereafter.

'Sex, Science, and Stem Cells' is a firsthand account of how Republicans and the Religious Right have politicized sex, reproduction, and science for political gain setting back the advancement of American health policies. For the first time, DeGette -- who is the chief architect of bipartisan stem cell legislation passed by Congress twice and was subject to President Bush's first and third vetoes -- chronicles her more-than-decade fight for effective science-based legislation by compiling actual Congressional floor debates, testimony, and statements on such hot button issues as stem cell research, sex education, reproduction, and cloning.

Says DeGette, "John McCain may say he is a 'maverick,' but he is certainly not a 'moderate,' and his voting record on all of the health policies in this country adds up to a flat 'zero.' Before Americans go to the polls in November, they should read this book to learn more of the escapades going on in the White House. Do Americans really want or need more years of the same dangerous policies that effect American families, or do they want health policies based on sound science?"

In the clip below, DeGette appears on the local news to talk about some of her many Congressional accomplishments: