Obama Addresses 3,000 LGBT Advocates in Video Message: WATCH

President Obama addressed the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s 25th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change in a video message this afternoon. The conference is being held this week in Atlanta for 3,000 LGBT rights advocates.

Said Obama in the message:

"I’ve always said that the change we need in this country — real change — doesn’t come from Washington, it comes from folks like you. Change has always come from ordinary Americans who sit in or stand up or marched to demand it. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has been a partner at the forefront of that movement for 40 years. ... With your help, we will continue the journey to perfect our union. The work will be hard, the road will be long, but I’m more confident than ever that we will reach a better future as long as Americans like you keep reaching for justice — and all of us keep marching together."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan Announces New Policy Combating LGBT Housing Discrimination: VIDEO

Speaking at NGLTF's Creating Change conference over the weekend in Baltimore, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that a new policy proposed last year combating LGBT housing discrimination is to be published and finalized this week and go into effect in 30 days.

MetroWeekly reported, over the weekend:

"Today, I am proud to announce a new equal access to housing rule that says clearly and unequivocally that LGBT indivduals and couples have the right to live where they choose," he told the audience, which rose to its feet with applause.

Donovan detailed that the rule, saying that it includes a new equal access provision that prohibits discrimination in HUD-backed housing programs. It also, he said, guarantees that LGBT individuals are eligible for HUD's public housing programs and states that discrimination is prohibited on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in all Federal Housing Administration-backed loans -- which Donovan said constituted 40 percent of all loans for Americans who bought a home last year.

Donovan's speech is now online. He's introduced by National Gay and Lesbian Task Force executive director, Rea Carey.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Additionally, Carey's State of the Gay and Lesbian Movement address can be found here.

Maryland First Lady Katie O'Malley Apologizes for Labeling Marriage Equality Opponents 'Cowards'

Maryland's First Lady Katie O'Malley apologized today for remarks she made at NGLTF's 24th annual Creating change Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality on Thursday night.

O'Malley was speaking about the marriage equality bill that failed to pass in Maryland last year, reportedly veering from prepared remarks to lash out at lawmakers who voted against it:

"There were some cowards that prevented it from passing."

Today, O'Malley said she "let my feelings get the better of me":

“I deeply respect that there are strongly held and differing views on marriage equality in Maryland but hope that our state’s elected officials will come together to fairly address this important issue for our families and children."

NGLTF Endorses National Equality March on Washington DC

The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force has endorsed the National Equality March set to take place on October 10th and 11th in Washington D.C.

The group released a statement:

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, a leader in building grassroots lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) political power, endorses the National Equality March, which will be held in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 10-11. Thousands of people from across the country will march and rally in front of the U.S. Capitol demanding equal protection under the law for LGBT people and their families in all 50 states. At the march, the Task Force will engage new activists, support fair-minded clergy and other people of faith, and mobilize volunteer activists to return home engaged and energized.

"For the past 30 years, LGBT people and our allies have come together in Washington to be inspired, to engage in political action, and to go home geared up to create change. The National Equality March will bring together those of us who have never marched, those who want to renew their passion for action, and those who demand their voices be heard. When we mobilize for LGBT equality, for racial and economic justice, for a transformed society, and to make our love and lives visible, the Task Force is there. The Task Force will be there at the march to support the voices of new activists, LGBT people and our allies who push and push for the end to hatred, discrimination and unjust laws," says National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey.

As part of its commitment to support march participants in fighting for local, state and federal change, the Task Force will:

• Utilize technology to connect people to concrete actions they can take on the local, state and national levels.
• Lend its faith organizing expertise in helping to plan an interfaith worship service.
• Work to connect state equality organizations and community centers with march participants the Task Force identifies from their states so they can further engage them to be active at home.
• Engage march participants in ballot campaigns under way in Maine, Washington state and Kalamazoo, Mich.
• Engage and support new activists in honing their talents and grassroots skills after the weekend of the march.

Consistent with the march goal of seeking equality in all 50 states, the Task Force will maintain its longstanding commitment to provide organizers, expertise and money for key ballot measure fights under way in Maine, Washington state and Kalamazoo, Mich. The Task Force will reach out to march participants from these states to channel their energy to create change back home.

Earlier this week, we published a list of 140 LGBT leaders and allies who have put their names behind this march, which will call for equal protection in all matters governed by law in all 50 states.