Foes of Gay Marriage Say Speaking out Can Make Them a Target; Obama Also the Target of Heckling at LGBT Event

By Shelia M. Poole and Craig Schneider. Alveda King is certain of two things: She’ll always oppose same-sex marriage, and people will always get mad when she says so.

How could the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. oppose gay marriage? they demand to know. At times the social media jabs, angry emails or tense phone calls are threatening, she said, although recent Twitter comments were merely critical.

Tennis great Martina Navratilova, who married partner Julia Lemigova in 2014, tweeted:

“@AlvedaCKing really tired of you guys telling me and my family we are ‘wrong’ in about every way imaginable. Shame on you.”

In an unexpected turnabout, many opponents of gay marriage will not speak publicly in 2015 because of the backlash that will follow: the charges of bigotry, intolerance or worse. Not too many years ago, it was the proponents of same-sex marriage who were publicly condemned — by some of the very folks who won’t speak out today. (Read more from “Foes of Gay Marriage Say Speaking out Can Make Them a Target” HERE)

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Obama, Who Opposed Gay Marriage When Elected, Takes Credit for LGBT Progress

By Daniel Halper. Speaking at an LGBT event tonight at the White House, President Obama took credit for liberal LGBT progress since he took office six-and-a-half years ago.

Obama said, according to a White House transcript: “Together, we ended ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ (Applause.) We passed a historic hate crimes bill named in part after Matthew Shepard. (Applause.) We lifted the HIV entry ban, and this summer, we’re going to be updating our national HIV/AIDS strategy which will focus on eliminating disparities that gay and bisexual men and transgender women face. (Applause.) We strengthened the Violence Against Women Act to protect LGBT victims. (Applause.) Hospitals that accept Medicare and Medicaid are now required to treat LGBT patients the same as everybody else. (Applause.) The pillar of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. (Applause.) Just yesterday, we announced that insurance companies that cover federal workers will no longer be able to prohibit gender transition services. (Applause.)”

He added, “When I became President, same-sex marriage was legal in only two states. Today, it’s legal in 37 states — (applause) — and the District of Columbia. A decade ago, politicians ran against LGBT rights. Today, they’re running towards them. (Applause.) Because they’ve learned what the rest of the country knows — that marriage equality is about our civil rights, and our firm belief that every citizen should be treated equally under the law.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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Obama Heckled at LGBT Event

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