White House adviser Valerie Jarrett
called the recent string of gay teens bullied to death “a terrible
tragedy.”
Jarrett, a senior adviser to President
Obama, spoke Saturday night to an estimated 3,100 people attending
the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) 14th annual National
Dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C.
The 53-year-old Jarrett said the
president had asked her to deliver a message on his behalf.
“Recently, we've all been shocked and
heartbroken by the deaths of several young people who had been
harassed and bullied for being openly gay – or because people
thought they were gay. It's a terrible tragedy. And it has turned a
harsh spotlight on an issue that often doesn't get the public
attention it deserves. The struggles of LGBT youth. The enormous
pain that too many experience as a result of bullying. And the
desperate, tragic decision by some young people who feel that their
only recourse is to take their own lives.”
“No young person should have to
endure a life of relentless taunts and harassment, just because
they're gay,” she added. “On behalf of President Obama, I want
to make clear that this administration is firmly committed to working
with you and other advocates.”
Speaking to the crowd last year, Obama
reiterated his campaign promise to repeal “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,”
the law that bans gay troops from serving openly. And several gay
groups and bloggers had criticized HRC officials for inviting a
high-ranking Obama official to speak at this year's event so soon
after Democrats failed to move legislation in the Senate that would
conditionally repeal the 1993 law.
Writing
at AmericaBlog.com, influential blogger John Aravosis blamed the
president for the failure: “Obama … sat back while the
legislation died in the Senate. He didn't make one God damn phone
call to even one senator the day the DADT compromise was filibustered
to death [by Republicans]. But that same day our self-proclaimed
'fierce advocate' did find time to phone a women's basketball team.”
Celebrities
attending the event included Pink, Ricky Martin and Bette Midler.