Pam Spaulding has ann exlusive story on Obamas faith based program.
In short, the campaign is saying that there will be no money for proselytizing or "reparative" therapy.
A source with Senator Obama's campaign (Director of the LGBT Vote, Dave Noble) has now confirmed to Pam's House Blend that under no circumstances will funds from the program will be granted to FBOs for proselytizing or reparative therapy.
Source
More after the flip.
Here is the Obama plan(via msnbc). Warning, .PDF.
This is what's in the plan:
Cannot use federal funds to proselytize or provide religious sectarian instruction.
�� Cannot discriminate against nonmembers in providing services. They must remain open to all and
cannot practice religious discrimination against the populations they serve.
�� Must comply with federal anti-discrimination laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Religious organizations that receive federal dollars cannot discriminate with respect to hiring for
government-funded social service programs.
�� Can only use taxpayer dollars on secular programs and initiatives.
�� Must prove their efficacy and be judged based on program effectiveness. They will be expected to
demonstrate proven program outcomes to continue to receive funding. Obama will fund programs that
Barack Obama will establish a new President's Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
within the White House. The Council will work to engage faith-based organizations and help them abide by
the principles that federal funds cannot be used to proselytize, that they should not discriminate in providing
their services, and they should be held to the same standards of accountability as other federal grant
recipients. The Council will:
• Train the Trainers to enable local faith-based organizations to learn best practices, grant-making
procedures and service delivery so that they can better apply for and use federal dollars.
• Partner with State and Local Offices so that federal efforts build on successes made at the state and
local level.
• Hold Recipients Responsible by conducting rigorous performance evaluation, researching what works
well and disseminating best practices.
• Close the Summer Learning Gap by focusing faith-based and community-based efforts on summer
learning programs for 1 million children.
Paid for by Obama for America
work and end funding for programs that do not – whether they are large or small, well-established or
new, faith-based or otherwise.
The problem with hiring and firing practices is still there:
In answer to a reporter's question, Obama said federal anti-discrimination laws do not cover discrimination based on sexual orientation. But Obama said he believes local laws in some states prohibiting discrimination against gays would apply to faith-based social programs funded with federal money in those states.
And here is Pam's response:
This obviously does nothing to help LGBTs in Red states where there are no protections. Because we have no inclusive ENDA in place, these FBOs can continue to operate and legally refuse to hire LGBTs using religious beliefs as a reason -- and take your tax dollars to do it.
As I've also mentioned before, good faith (pun intended) is key in mitigating a plan of this nature. And trust, quite frankly, is in short supply when it comes to politicians of all stripes.
Since Barack Obama cannot change federal law himself, at the very least a public statement announcing that Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships in hand with his intention to firmly back a swift passage of an inclusive ENDA is called for. It would then highlight the injustices that a program like this illuminates. It would also signal to all FBOs seeking federal funds that the days of legal discrimination in hiring because of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression are coming to a close.
If you want to read the original post, you can find it from Pam's Houseblend.
As i don't expect this to get too much traffic, i'm going out for a little bicycle ride.