Where’s the Obama coverage?

My partner and I have been Dallas residents since August 1960, and recently celebrated 52 years of continuing successful enterprise, having achieved national and international renown as arts and antiques dealers and designers. Although we incurred tremendous difficulties in establishing ourselves and our business, we chose to be “out and proud” in a society which harbored extraordinary prejudice and blatant discrimination against homosexuals, especially those few of us who so publicly presented ourselves personally and professionally.

For those who did not experience such incredible hardships, it’s utterly impossible to know and fully appreciate the almost insurmountable obstacles and devastating struggles the LGBT citizenry of these United States have endured to attain the phenomenal accomplishments which presently exist in 2012. While we have made these hard-won advancements, there remains a vast amount of equally daunting challenges we must yet overcome to fully achieve our rightful equality promised by our founding Constitution. Prominent among these remaining goals is our right to marry the person we love.

Because my partner and I are so actively dedicated to the present and future advancement of the LGBT cause, we look forward to receiving the weekly publication of the Dallas Voice which claims to be “The Premier Media Source for LGBT Texas.” Indeed, the Voice is a tremendous advocate and invaluable asset to our community, and a very real blessing for which all of us must be extremely proud and immeasurably grateful.

Therefore, it was with great interest that we read the 60 pages of the Friday, Oct. 26 issue. While it was customarily informative and enjoyable, we were amazed and shocked to find almost no mention of our President Barack Obama and the incredibly vital election which is only a few days hence.

Aside from the full-page advertisement paid for by Stonewall Democrats of Dallas, we found only an inconsequential and rather vacuous article and a miniscule poll which reported (in infinitesimal print) that Obama received 78 percent of 184 measly votes cast responding to the question, “Who do you think will win the presidential race?” Oh, and lest forget, there was a half-page article on Page 4 reporting about a Republican state senator who less-than-wholeheartedly claims support for three measures advocated by Equality Texas, but is “not there yet” when it comes to the issue of marriage equality.

When I telephoned the offices of Dallas Voice on the following Monday morning, both the senior editor, John Wright and the publisher, Robert Moore graciously received my call. I passionately explained that I found it incomprehensible, wholly reprehensible, and utterly indefensible that the Dallas Voice had failed to feature, if not justifiably devote the issue and its cover to the immediately upcoming election of the first and only president to insist on LGBT rights and marriage equality as a fundamental accomplishment of his presidency a cause which is avidly rejected by the majority of voters and actively opposed to by the Republican Party.

In fact, President Obama knowingly and bravely risks re-election to strongly advocate gay rights and pointedly includes LGBT equality in his campaign. President Obama fought mightily to accomplish repeal of, “don’t ask, don’t tell”( a landmark piece of legislation), and proudly announces re-election promises to provide greater support for the LGBT citizenry of these United States.

If anything, we all should be marching in the streets for President Obama and doing whatever we can to ensure his re-election. It is imperative for each and every one of us to enthusiastically support this incredibly important cause which is absolutely vital to the future of the LGBT movement. Although this upcoming election is historic on many levels and for countless reasons, it marks the most important event of our extraordinary movement. If you have any doubt whatsoever please refer to the firmly established campaign platforms of the state and national Republican Party.

In my telephone conversations with the Voice, my admonitions and insistencies were polite but firmly dismissed, while explaining that the publication considered its coverage of President Obama and his re-election had been sufficient in part due to the voter apathy of our local LGBT community! While I certainly find this reasoning impossible to believe, it is nonetheless the primary and essential obligation of “The Premier Media Source for LGBT Texas” to inform and inspire our community to commit ourselves to the single greatest cause for the advancement if LGBT equality.

Charles Paxton Gremillion
Dallas