Obama Isn't Quiet About LGBT Rights, Even in Jamaica Trip

Against a backdrop of LGBT youth literally living in storm drains and a gay man stoned to death in the street, President Obama used his trip to Jamaica this week to hail the example of a young lesbian activist.

While in Kingston at the University of the West Indies for a town hall with young people, Obama used his opening remarks to praise two people who he said are "an example of what is possible, even in the most difficult of circumstances." One of those people is Angeline Jackson, executive director for Quality of Citizenship Jamaica.

Obama found Jackson in the audience, then shared her story this way:

"Several years ago, when Angeline was 19, she and a friend were kidnapped, held at gunpoint and sexually assaulted. And as a woman, and as a lesbian, justice and society were not always on her side. But instead of remaining silent, she chose to speak out and started her own organization to advocate for women like her, and get them treatment and get them justice, and push back against stereotypes, and give them some sense of their own power. And she became a global activist. But more than anything, she cares about her Jamaica, and making it a place where everybody, no matter their color, or their class, or their sexual orientation, can live in equality and opportunity. That’s the power of one person, what they can do."

Activists has hoped Obama would not ignore rampant abuse of LGBT people while visiting Jamaica, saying “Every mickle mek a mockle” — a Jamaican proverb that translates approximately to “every little bit counts.”

In an Advocate op-ed timed with the president's arrival in Jamaica earlier this week, Shawn Gaylord of Human Rights First called on Obama to use his immense popularity in the country, saying his "actions during his visit have the power to contribute to meaningful strides toward full equality in Jamaica."

The island nation is a regular source for tragic stories of antigay violence. In March, a YouTube video appeared to show the public execution of a young man stoned in the street by a crowd chanting antigay slurs. Then there's the shocking but true story of the "Gully Queens," who are LGBT youth kicked out of their homes and living underground in the storm drainage system in Kingston.

Gay sex is illegal in Jamaica. And a man who had bravely tried to challenge the constitutionality of criminalization laws had reached the Supreme Court last year only to drop his case after violent threats made him afraid for his life and his family.

But Obama in his opening remarks focused on future generations who he said are open minded and will change life for Jamaicans.

"What gives me so much hope about your generation is that you’re more interested in the hard work of waging peace than resorting to the quick impulses of conflict," he told them. "You’re more interested in the hard work of building prosperity through entrepreneurship, not cronyism or corruption. You’re more eager for progress that comes not by holding down any segment of society, but by holding up the rights of every human being, regardless of what we look like, or how we pray, or who we love. You care less about the world as it has been, and more about the world as it should be and can be."

During a question and answer portion of the town hall, Obama was asked how the United States decides which tactic it will take in fighting human rights abuses. And though he didn't specifically call out LGBT oppression in his answer, it still offers insight into how Obama thinks about wielding his influence and that of the United States in making gains on social issues worldwide. Here's that exchange, according to a White House transcript:



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