Elizabeth Edwards, who is married to presidential candidate John Edwards, made news this past weekend when she attended a gay pride event in San Francisco -- and expressed her support for gay marriage, an issue about which she and her husband do not agree.

Then yesterday morning John Edwards toured the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center, as pictured here with L.A. Center CEO Lori L. Jean and government affairs director Curt Shepard (full disclosure: Curt has been one of my closest friends for 15 years).

In a statement released after the visit, Lorri Jean spoke out about the fact that John Edwards has said he favors domestic partnerships and civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, but thinks marriage should be restricted to only heterosexuals:
"We were glad to have had the opportunity to continue to educate the Senator on the importance of the freedom to marry and to brief him on some issues of particular concern to our community, including HIV treatment and prevention, homophobia and its relationship to the growing use of crystal meth, the problem of homelessness among GLBT youth and the federal government's failure to provide adequate funding to care for GLBT people most in need," says Jean. "We hope that his views continue to evolve on marriage-much as his wife's opinions have grown-to a point where he becomes a true ally in our fight for full equality."

Today, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton got her gay on with


the announcement of the LGBT Americans for Hillary Steering Committee, a who's who of power gays brought together to "work with the campaign on several areas including political outreach, communications, policy advice and counsel, and fundraising." (See the list below.)

I remember having all the hope in the world when we elected Bill Clinton in 1992. God, those were heady days. We thought FINALLY, change will come. And while I loved having Clinton as president and still love the guy, the bitter taste of Don't Ask Don't Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act still lingers. And the hunger for ENDA and a plateful of other rights we are due still leaves my appetite for civil rights for our community unfed.

I know that the landscape has changed since the 90s. Polls show that most Americans don't think gays should be discriminated against in employment, and a new poll even says most people now think that we cannot change our sexual orientation. But I guess I'm older, wiser and more wary now. I like hearing from these candidates that we're going to have a place at the table, but the war-weary cynic in me knows we still have reserved seats in the back of the bus. (And if you're a 14-year-old girl and you kiss your girlfriend, you can't even ride the bus.)

If a democrat gets elected president in '08, do we stand to do better this time? What's your hope factor on a scale of 1-10? About which tangible gains in gay civil rights are you most hopeful?




LGBT Americans For Hillary Steering Committee Members (Committee In Formation)*:

* Eldie Acheson, former U.S. Assistant Attorney General; founding director, Public Policy and Government Affairs, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
* Roberta Achtenberg, former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
* Toni Atkins, San Diego, CA, City Councilmember
* Dr. Christopher Barley, activist, philanthropist
* Greg Berlanti, creator/producer, TV series, "Brothers and Sisters"
* Elizabeth Birch, former Executive Director, Human Rights Campaign
* Mary Breslauer, former co-chair, Kerry-Edwards 2004 LGBT Steering Committee; communications consultant
* Tonio Burgos, member, Democratic National Committee LGBT Caucus
* Ilene Chaiken, creator/producer, Showtime series, "The L Word"
* Rocco Claps, former LGBT Outreach Director, Democratic National Committee; Illinois LGBT activist
* Bruce Cohen, Oscar-winning film producer
* Roberta Conroy, member, National Leadership Council, Lambda Legal
* Joan Darrah, retired U.S. Navy Captain
* Q. Todd Dickinson, former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
* Thomas Duane, New York State Senator
* Ingrid Duran, board member, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
* Steve Elmendorf, Deputy Campaign Manager, Kerry-Edwards 2004
* Shelley Freeman, business leader, Los Angeles Police Commissioner
* Ethan Geto, long-time gay rights advocate
* John Gile, Executive Director, Project Angel Food
* Emily Giske, member, Democratic National Committee LGBT Caucus
* Deborah Glick, New York Assemblymember
* Steven Goldstein, Chair, Garden State Equality
* Chad Griffin, CEO, Chad Griffin Consulting, Inc.
* Rebecca Haag, Executive Director, AIDS Action Council; Executive Director, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts
* Yashar Hedayat, businessman
* Lisa Henderson, General Manager, Olivia Cruises
* Stephen Herbits, businessman
* Fred Hochberg, former Deputy then Acting Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration; Dean of the Milano School for Management and Urban Policy, The New School
* John Isa, board of directors and Business Council member, Human Rights Campaign
* Gloria Johnson, board member, National Stonewall Democrats
* Christine Kehoe, California State Senator
* Keith Kerr, retired Colonel., U.S. Army; retired Brigadier General, California National Reserve
* Kasey Kincaid, attorney, Iowa grassroots activist
* Billie Jean King, sports legend and social pioneer
* Sheila James Kuehl, California State Senator
* Mark Kvare, board member, National Stonewall Democrats
* Neel Lattimore, Special Advisor for Strategic Communications, Children's Defense Fund; former press secretary for the First Lady
* Bruce Lehman, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
* Sue Lovell, Houston, TX, City Councilmember
* Claire Lucas, chair, Democratic National Committee LGBT Leadership Council; board member, National Stonewall Democrats
* Linda Gray Murphy, board member, National Stonewall Democrats
* Daniel O'Donnell, New York Assemblymember
* Dixon Osburn, LGBT activist on "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy
* Annise Parker, Houston, TX, City Controller
* Catherine Pino, board member, National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
* Julian Potter, former Special Assistant to President as Liaison to the Gay and Lesbian Community
* Christine Quinn, Speaker, New York City Council
* Hilary Rosen, President, OurChart.com; media industry consultant
* Peter Rosenstein, DC-based LGBT community activist
* Mirian Saez, member, Democratic National Committee LGBT Caucus
* Greg Sargent, attorney, New Hampshire LGBT activist
* Jayne Baron Sherman, co-chair, In the Life Media; former board chair, Lambda Legal
* Melissa Sklarz, Director, New York Trans Rights Organization; vice chair, National Stonewall Democrats
* Paul M. Smith, board member, Lambda Legal; Attorney who successfully argued the landmark case, Lawrence v. Texas, establishing the right to privacy for gay Americans
* Jeff Soref, former chair of the Democratic National Committee LGBT Caucus; former co-chair, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
* Laura Spanjian, board member, Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund; board member, Equality California
* Campbell Spencer, former National LGBT Outreach Director for the Democratic National Committee and Gore-Lieberman 2000
* Rick Stafford, chair, Democratic National Committee LGBT Caucus; co-chair, National Stonewall Democrats
* Jill Stauffer, board of directors, Human Rights Campaign
* Sally Susman, business leader
* Rev. Deborah Tammearu, Episcopal Priest, Diocese of New York
* Matthew Titone, New York State Assemblymember
* Jeffrey Tooke, board member, National Stonewall Democrats
* Olive F. Watson, activist and philanthropist
* Paula Redd Zeman, vice chair, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; vice chair, Black Democrats of Westchester
* Bob Zuckerman, board member, National Stonewall Democrats
* Jose Zuniga, retired U.S. Army Sergeant and former Soldier of the Year; Executive Director, International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care