After New York Passes Lesbian and Gay Marriage,
A Challenge to the Media

I am thrilled to be a New Yorker today!! Marriage is a fundamental right for all Americans. But it is far from over.  I am troubled that so many of my peers ignore lesbian and gay issues, leaving it for someone else to cover. And I am not talking about the obvious villains here like Fox News, but health and science reporters and bloggers, who consider themselves at the forefront of science advancement, social justice, and investigative reporting working for a better planet and fairness on many important issues.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are not—and should not be treated as if they are at the margins of society.

Advancements in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender policies this year are notable. The Institute of Medicine, for the first time recognized that health researchers should include lesbians, gays, bisexual, and transgender people in research. New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation passed and is now implementing a new initiative to ratchet up staff training and care for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, starting with the premise: “If You Don’t Know Me, How Can You Treat Me.” In April 2010, President Obama extended hospital visitation and participation in medical decision making to LGBT partners.

But it is not all progress by any means. There have been setbacks and disappointments. It’s just a handful of states with gay marriage on the books. And getting quality healthcare for lesbians and gays wherever they live needs to become part of the mainstream. And President Obama has a gay marriage problem: he’ll press for rights, but not gay marriage. And this is not all: worst of all, there are hate crimes, even in the great state of New York. They must stop and offenders must be prosecuted.

Anybody who wants to ratchet up the conversation on these issues, let’s go! Please contact me below, follow me on twitter at lauranewmanny, or send me an email, to patientpov “at” gmail “dot” com, and most importantly, talk with each other.

There is a huge opportunity for progressive media to use all the tools of new and old media to educate the public. Let’s move. It’s never too late to be inclusive.  There is so much to say. Let’s expand the audience.