Wednesday, October 19, 2011 Welcome to the inaugural edition of the White House LGBT Update, where you'll hear from the White House Office of Public Engagement on President Obama’s continued commitment to progress for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. We need your help to get the word out! Please encourage your friends and family to sign up for updates and don’t hesitate to drop us a line with your comments, suggestions, and ideas. All the best, Gautam Raghavan Office of Public Engagement The White House President Obama to Honor Janice Langbehn with the Citizens Medal This Thursday, October 20th, Janice Langbehn will be presented the Citizens Medal for her efforts to ensure all Americans are treated equally. While on vacation with her family in February 2007, Janice Langbehn’s partner, Lisa Pond, suddenly fell ill and was rushed to the hospital. Janice was refused access to her partner, who had experienced a brain aneurysm and later died alone. She filed a federal lawsuit and worked to get her story out to the nation, and her story received attention from President Obama, who personally apologized to her for the way she and her family were treated. He went on to require hospital visitation protections for gay and lesbian couples, through a rule that went into effect this past January for any hospitals receiving federal Medicare or Medicaid funds. Watch the ceremony live this Thursday afternoon at 1:45 p.m. Obama Administration Appears at Inaugural OutServe Armed Forces Leadership Summit Last Saturday, Doug Wilson, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, delivered the keynote address at the inaugural OutServe Armed Forces Leadership Summit – including a very special message from the First Lady. In her message, Mrs. Obama graciously thanked gay and lesbian service members and their families for their service: Until very recently, gay and lesbian Americans had to serve in silence, but in spite of this tremendous obstacle, service members like you persevered. With courage and determination, you chose to serve and continue to exemplify what is best about the American spirit.  Doug Wilson, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, at the OutServe Armed Forces Leadership Summit in Las Vegas, NV, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. (Photo from OutServe). OutServe sent out a great tweet on Monday afternoon, highlighting our blog post about their organization:  President Obama Delivers Remarks at the Human Rights Campaign Dinner Earlier this month, President Obama addressed the 15th Annual Human Rights Campaign National Dinner at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. This was his second time speaking at the dinner. In his remarks, the President stressed his commitment to the cause of equality and the steps his Administration has taken over the past two and a half years, and vowed to keep on fighting for LGBT Americans.  President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the Human Rights Campaign Gala at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. October 1, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton). The President also expressed his hope for a more tolerant, just, equal America: I am still hopeful, because of a deeper shift that we’re seeing; a transformation not only written into our laws, but woven into the fabric of our society… It happens when a father realizes he doesn’t just love his daughter, but also her wife. It happens when a soldier tells his unit that he’s gay, and they tell him they knew it all along and they didn’t care, because he was the toughest guy in the unit. It happens when a video sparks a movement to let every single young person know they’re not alone, and things will get better. It happens when people look past their ultimately minor differences to see themselves in the hopes and struggles of their fellow human beings. That’s where change is happening. And that’s not just the story of the gay rights movement. That’s the story of America -- the slow, inexorable march towards a more perfect union. You are contributing to that story, and I’m confident we can continue to write another chapter together. Read the President’s remarks and watch the video. What You May Have Missed  First Lady Michelle Obama leads a group of 400 local children on the South Lawn of the White House to help break the Guinness World Records title for the most people doing jumping jacks in a 24-hour period, Oct. 11, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
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