■ Presumptive Democrat US Presidential Candidate Senator Barack Obama.

PORTLAND, August 20, 2008  –  Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender supporters of Barack Obama yesterday launched an online community web portal for information and discussion about the Presidential election campaign, and easy to use tools for getting involved.

The website, LGBTforObama.com, is the idea of long-time gay activist and Democratic Party loyalist Terry Bean of Portland, Oregon.

“After devouring many polls and talking to friends, it was apparent that many GLBT people were unaware of the stark differences on our issues between Barack Obama and John McCain,” explained Mr. Bean.

“I was appalled that George Bush got 24% of the GLBT vote in 2000 and again in 2004 and vowed to do all that I could to prevent that from happening again with John McCain.”

After conceiving the idea, he soon realized that website was also the perfect vehicle to keep our community updated daily on election news and to provide a much needed forum for LGBT specific fundraising.

The project has attracted the attention and support from community leaders, online bloggers and celebrities, who will be providing daily content and commentary. 

The LGBTforOBAMA.com team currently includes many of America’s best-known LGBT bloggers, including: John Aravosis and Joe Sudbay (Americablog.com), Bil Browning, Eric Marcus and Marti Abernathy (Bilerico.com), Jeremy Hooper (GoodAsYou.com), Terrance Heath (RepublicOfT.com), Mike Rogers (PageOneQ.com), Pam Spaulding (PamsHouseBlend.com), Andy Towle (Towleroad.com)

Among others on the team are the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson (the Anglican Church’s only openly gay bishop), television actor Chad Allen, author David Mixner, broadcaster and journalist Michangelo Signorile, and activists Cathy Renna, Elizabeth Birch, Corey Johnson,

In addition to content provided by the blog team, user-generated content will also play a key role on the website.

“We’ve integrated a number of Web 2.0 tools into the LGBTforObama.com platform, allowing visitors to contribute directly to the content,” said blog editor Michael Crawford who also runs Bloggernista.com.

“Users can engage in discussions, comment on news items, post video testimonials, and tell the world why winning this election is vitally personal to them.”

Both journalists and new junkies will also benefit from the online portal.   LGBTforObama.com provides online aggregated newsfeeds from LGBT bloggers and news sites.

There will also be live-blogging from the Democratic Convention in Denver.

“The stakes for the LGBT community in this election are enormous,”.   The LGBT community must unite behind Senator Obama’s campaign,” Mr. Bean said.

“LGBTforObama.com is a one stop place where the LGBT community can get informed, make donations and help fundraise, in a shared effort to make Barack Obama our next President.”

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Posted: 20 August 2008 at 00:00 (UK time)