Dominica : Dominican journalist Carlisle Jno Baptiste is learning first hand about the inroads being made by gays and lesbians in the United States.
Jno Baptiste is representing Dominica News Online on a Foreign Press Centre reporting tour on “A Developing Narrative Lesbian, Gay, bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Rights and Issues in the United States”.
The DNO reporter and several others from 16 different countries are hearing from key stakeholders across the political spectrum in the US on LGBT issues and rights.
On the opening day of the tour journalists were updated on the inroads gays and lesbians have made in government, politics, media, the military and education.
On day one of the trip in Washington DC, the group met with editorial staff of the Washington Blade including editor Kevin Naff, and later visited the Department of Defense at the Pentagon.
The Washington Blade described as the only “Gay” paper, is produced weekly.
Naff explained that the paper had survived “trying times over the years” and suggested that its reputation was impeccable.
“We are very happy at the decision of President Obama, as a Gay paper we have always had a Gay Reporter at the White House since the years of President Reagan but during press conferences no one has yet to call on a Gay Reporter,” Naff recalled.
He said they were “kicked out” of the White House during the second term of the Bush administration whose officials were very “hostile and antagonistic”.
Naff is optimistic that while the upcoming presidential election will be “close”, the Obama camp will win.
“Same sex marriage is legal in six US states while in others it is not, our country still has a long way to come….if Romney wins we (as gays) are doomed for lots of bad things will happen to us,” he said.
“Mitt Romney is like a dinosaur, we can’t think of Obama losing this election, his latest decision was honest, straight and helped a lot of people now come out openly and so we have endorsed him for another term,” Naff, who has been gay all his life, remarked with a smile.
While observing that the issue is “deeply rooted in religion” the newspaper editor insisted that like everyone else, gays have a right to live a “normal life.”
Among laws he expects a new Obama regime to tackle if the incumbent wins a second term, is a 1974 Act “Employment none discrimination Act” and the “Defensive Marriage Act” which he says greatly “hurts and discriminates against the LBGT community”.
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