Obama First President Ever To Attend An LGBT Fundraiser?

Is Barack Obama really the first president to attend an LGBT fundraiser? Die-hard Barack Obama supporters inside the LGBT community are working overtime to rewrite history and had managed to place their fictitious spin into an NPR story Tuesday about the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) LGBT Leadership Council dinner that will be held in New York City Thursday night at the Sheraton Hotel on 53rd Street.

The NPR story claimed that, “This is the first LGBT fundraiser by a sitting president,” — which is simply not true. It took NPR an entire day to realize its mistake, and Wednesday added a correction stating, “An earlier Web version of this story mistakenly said that Barack Obama was the first sitting president to attend an LGBT fundraiser. In fact, he is the first sitting president running for re-election to do so. President Bill Clinton attended an LGBT fundraiser in 2000.”

According to Paul Yandura, the first executive director of the Democratic National Committee’s LGBT Leadership Council (and a founder of GetEQUAL,) the first DNC Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council fundraiser ever held was attended by then-President Bill Clinton on September 27, 2000 at a private home in Dallas owned by a gay couple, Jim Vasilas and Chuck Marlett, and raised $337,500. That was one of two gay fundraisers that sitting President Clinton attended in 2000, the first year of the DNC’s Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council.

Thursday’s official DNC dinner, “Gala with the Gay Community,” is being brought to you and yours through the largesse of John Gile of Los Angeles. But first whip out your platinum or gold card to fork over the cash. Go to the DNC website for more information on LGBT community and its rights and the Democratic Party to ascertain what your money is buying.

Meanwhile, GetEQUAL and its supporters will be out in force on Manhattan’s 57th Street to greet President Obama’s return trip to cash-bountiful New York City by reminding him about his 2008 campaign promises to repeal DADT — Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (not done yet,) pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act – ENDA (not even close) and repeal the Defense of Marriage Act — DOMA (stopped defending it in court this year.)

Obama’s not the first sitting president to attend an LGBT fundraiser. But let’s hope he’s the last one LGBT organizations have to protest.

Tanya L. Domi is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, who teaches about human rights in Eurasia and is a Harriman Institute affiliated faculty member. Prior to teaching at Columbia, Domi worked internationally for more than a decade on issues related to democratic transitional development, including political and media development, human rights, gender issues, sex trafficking, and media freedom.