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Barack Obama to receive 2015 IGLTA Chair Award

Paul Gustafson April 7, 2015

The International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) has announced that President Barack Obama will receive its prestigious Chair Award for 2015.

President Barack Obama
President Barack Obama

THE award is presented to an individual or business that has made significant improvements to the landscape of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender travel.

On April 9, White House LGBT Liaison Aditi Hardikar will accept the honour on the President’s behalf at travel association’s Los Angeles convention.

“This administration has gone to great lengths to make the U.S. more welcoming to the global LGBT community and has allowed individuals with HIV/AIDS to travel freely,“ says IGLTA Board Chair Dan Melesurgo. “We all know travel opens minds and changes perceptions. The actions of President Obama and his administration certainly have created a more positive experience for all of us.”  

In 2009, Obama lifted a 22-year-old travel ban that prevented visitors and immigrants with HIV from entering the United States, saying that it “was rooted in fear rather than fact.” A year later the Department of State revised standards for gender designation on passports, making it easier for transgender people to travel.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection also eased entry into the United States by expanding the definition of family to include domestic partners in 2012 and to recognise children of same-sex parents regardless of adoption status in 2014.

The Chair Award will be presented as part of the opening keynote session of what will be IGLTA’s 32nd Annual Global Convention.

Aditi Hardikar says:  “It’s an honour to accept this award on behalf President Obama for his leadership in helping eliminate barriers for the LGBT community around the world. The United States places great importance on the protection and promotion of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people, including LGBT persons globally.”

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