The article describes how it's about time Obama finally lives up to his campaign promises to stand up for gay rights:
During his presidential campaign, Mr. Obama said he would fight for the rights of gays and lesbians, but he has been under pressure since the beginning of his presidency to be a stronger advocate for their issues.
In some ways, the poly population in this country is following in the footsteps of the LGBT community. Each of their successes in gaining awareness, rights, and respect paves the path for other kinds of unconventional relationships to enjoy the same eventually. I know, I know, they don't really want to be lumped in with us because they are trying to prove how normal and mainstream them are, and apparently multiple partners in responsible non-monogamous relationships are still too weird even for other marginalized groups to embrace formally. But really, there are a lot of parallels between where we are now and where they were 30 years ago.
The last paragraph of this article is what really made me want to post about it here:
The memorandum is intended to "help ensure that patients will be able to face difficult times in hospitals with compassion, dignity and respect,'' a White House spokesman, Shin Inouye, said Thursday night.[My emphasis]
"By taking these steps, we can better protect the interests and needs of patients that are gay or lesbian, widows and widowers with no children, members of religious orders, or others for whom their loved ones are not always immediate relatives. Because all Americans should be able to have loved ones there for them in their time of need."
See? They have apparently written this memorandum loosely enough to allow patients to designate ANYONE as important enough to be able to visit them in the hospital. That includes US! Now, let's just hope that the laws and regulations to come actually follow in the spirit of this "memo."
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