Clinton Asked About Executive Order Ending 'Don't Ask Don't Tell'
Exclusive Interview with Philadelphia Gay News during Pennsylvania Primary PHILADELPHIA, April 3, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with the Philadelphia Gay News, Senator Hillary Clinton discusses the option of issuing an executive order or signing statement to end the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, the ban on openly gay servicemembers.
The interview touches on issues not yet raised in the presidential nomination process. She discusses IRS filings by LGBT couples, equality in immigration policy, services for LGBT youth and seniors, and whether the federal Department of Education should give local school districts and teachers direction on presenting positive LGBT lesson plans. She is also the first candidate to address the government-sponsored arrest, torture and murder of gay men in Iran, Iraq, Egypt and other countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Mark Segal, publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News, said, "Senator Obama's lack of dialogue with the local gay press is disappointing. The local gay press often is to the LGBT community what churches are to the black community."
Despite concerted efforts, Senator Barack Obama has not granted a formal interview to the Philadelphia Gay News. PGN, now in its 32nd year and the nation's most-honored LGBT newspaper, is taking the unusual step of displaying Obama's lack of communication to the local LGBT press, leaving blank space on the newspaper's front page where Obama's interview would have appeared, illustrating his lack of accessibility to the local gay press. Obama has not granted a formal interview to any local gay press in 1,522 days, when he spoke to the Windy City Times during his Senate race in 2004. PGN requested an equal chance to interview Senator Obama as with Senator Clinton, given same questions and time limits. PGN has learned that several of his advisors, including his strongest political supporter in Pennsylvania, Senator Bob Casey, two of his superdelegates and a major Pennsylvania financial backer supported the newspaper's invitation. Obama's scant respect for the local gay press was discussed at last week's National Gay Newspaper Guild meeting in Boston and at a recent LGBT Obama fundraiser in New York, where the candidate again was personally encouraged to speak to the LGBT press. PGN offered equal time to Republican candidate Senator John McCain. McCain's campaign declined the invitation respectfully. "It's a sad day when we are treated with more respect from the Republican candidate, John McCain, than a Democratic senator," said Segal. "With McCain, his top press representative called us back within three hours. It took seven weeks for Obama's representative to acknowledge." The question is now this: Is the Senator playing it safe, or just being managed? Space for his interview will remain available in PGN until the Pennsylvania primary on April 22. "We hope he takes us up on the offer," said Segal. NOTE: Complete interview with Senator Clinton will be available at
CONTACT: Mark Segal, Publisher, Philadelphia Gay News, +1-215-625-8501 Web Site: http://www.epgn.com/
2008-04-03 17:05:14 0328034 PRNEWSWIRE
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