Obama takes a nother step to help equalize the GLBT community

President Obama has been often criticized for not keeping his campaign promises to the GLBT community but as I have often said in my defense of him: Give him some time!

It appears that the patience is paying off and Obama is not making good on some of those promises and bringing the GLBT community another step closer to equality. While this step is far from what many would have hoped for..I firm;y believe it to be a step in the right direction and one of many that will be made by Obama!

President Obama on Thursday signed a memorandum requiring hospitals to allow gays and lesbians to have non-family visitors and to grant their partners medical power of attorney.

The president ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to prohibit discrimination in hospital visitation. The memo is scheduled to be made public Friday morning, according to an administration official and another source familiar with the White House decision. An official said the new rule will affect any hospital that receives Medicare or Medicaid funding.

The decision injects the president squarely into the debate over gay marriage by attempting to end the common practice by many hospitals of insisting that only family members by blood or marriage be allowed to visit patients. Gay activists have argued for years that recognizing gay marriages would ease the emotional pain associated with not being able to visit their partners during a health crisis.

By contrast, opponents of gay marriage have said the visitation issue is a red herring, and have argued that advocates want to provide special rights for gays and lesbians that others do not have.