For many years our Hillary has fought the good fight for women, children, and families. She made them the centerpiece of her efforts as our top diplomat from the outset of her tenure at the State Department and found a way to weave their well-being into diplomatic and development initiatives that others might have seen as far removed from the daily lives of women and their children.
Shortly after arriving at Foggy Bottom, she held a town hall with the employees there. She was open to questions, comments, and suggestions and also established an electronic suggestion box in an effort to bring every voice into the conversation. One question that arose at that town hall was whether the new secretary, who so clearly cared about families, would be willing to extend the same benefits to partners and children of gay unions as were enjoyed by straight family members. She promised to explore that possibility, and in June of that year, Pride Month, she announced that they indeed had examined the issue, found it doable, and were going ahead and doing it. From that moment on she never failed to include LGBT folks and families among her efforts to raise standards of inclusion worldwide. The rights of LGBT people became part of her drive for full and equal human rights for all. On this issue, she has remained perpetually ahead of the curve for three-and-a-half years of this administration.
There have been times when I have scolded the LGBT community here on these pages for not recognizing her leadership on these issues, so I am gratified to be able to report, on this Independence Day, that the LGBT community has honored her efforts in a special way.
Hillary Clinton gets gay flag tribute ahead of 4 July
LGBT US flag tribute to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on 4 July| By Tris Reid-SmithUS Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, has been honored with a unique work of art for her gay rights work.
International gay organization Kaleidoscope Trust has given her a huge American flag with the full text of her historic speech to the United Nations, where she called for global LGBT rights, sewn into it.
The US ambassador to the United Kingdom, Louis Susman, received the flag at the American embassy today in advance of Independence Day, 4 July tomorrow.
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Artist's flag goes international
Artwork will be presented in London as part of World Pride
5:45 PM, Jul 3, 2012 |Sam Gassman adds finishing touches to a flag June 25 at the Studio Arts Building. The flag will be presented today in London in honor of Hillary Clinton. The hand-sown flag was made from T-shirts. / David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen
Does the right wing have a monopoly on the American flag?Written by
Adam B Sullivan
Iowa City Press-Citizen
Iowa-native Sam Gassman thinks so. And his latest piece of art being unveiled in London today aims in part to reverse that.
Gassman came to the University of Iowa earlier this summer to work on the piece — a giant flag featuring text of a speech about gay marriage by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Instead of 50 stars, Gassman’s flag — made from repurposed T-shirts — has one star for each of the almost 200 sovereign nations in the world. Most of the stars are white, but more than 70 are blue to identify countries with inhumane policies against gay citizens. The piece features references to each of the U.S. states that allow gay marriage, including Iowa.
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