'08 Presidential candidates

This week Hillary Clinton told Ellen DeGeneres that she will "defend gay rights as President and eliminate inequality for same sex couples in federal law".

She shared a story about a gay male couple [who lived next door to her parents] denied hospital visitation because they weren't considered "family" under current legislation. One of the men got sick, and they were faced with a horrible situation. See the video below.

Elsewhere in the interview, Ellen and Hillary talk about the possibility of quitting the race for the Democratic presidential nomination because she's behind.

Leading Democratic candidate - Barack Obama - released an open letter to LGBT Americans this week concerning his steadfast commitment to our equal rights.

In his message, he reaffirms his respect for our relationships and families by stating (among other things):

"As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws".

Here's his entire letter:

New York Magazine's Daily Intelligencer does a good job exploring reasons for Hillary Clinton's popularity among lesbian and gay citizens. In a piece called Why Barack’s Mojo With the Gays Can’t Match Hillary’s, Sean Kennedy writes:

Al Gore has posted a video on his Current TV network strongly asserting the morality of faithfulness and loyalty to one's partner regardless of sexual orientation.

The New York Observer is reporting on Barack Obama's speech at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor.

The Observer states: "Obama's speech will likely be remembered for his calling on the black community to do its part to fight homophobia, anti-Semitism and xenophobia."

In his speech Obama said:

In an email sent exclusively to KnowThyNeighbor.org - Greater Boston PFLAG President Stan Griffith shared his personal views about Hillary Clinton's position on same-sex parenting. KnowThyNeighbor.org posted the email on it's website. PFLAG is the acronym for Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

Nine out of ten lesbian, gay, and bisexual U.S. citizens will vote in the Democratic primaries - and 63% of them will vote for Hillary Clinton. Only twenty-one percent say that lesbian and gay rights will be the most important issue influencing their vote in 2008.