With the election of President Barack Obama, we have the possibility of real and lasting change. Under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the State Department formally endorsed of a U.N. statement calling for the worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality, a measure that former President Bush had refused to sign. And unlike President Bush, Obama has pushed for the swift passage of a federal hate crimes law that includes sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Matthew Shepard Act -- named after the 21-year-old college student who was attacked, tortured and killed for being gay in 1998 -- would provide resources to state and local governments and to local law enforcement for the investigation and prosecution of bias-motivated, violent crimes based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender and disability. It recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is currently working its way through the U.S. Senate.

Believing in the politics of the possible -- without ever losing sight of the fundamental goals of the entire movement -- is the cornerstone of our work at the Human Rights Campaign. While we know we must work in elective politics to elect more fair-minded leaders, and advocate for needed reforms at the state and federal level, we must also reach Americans where they live everyday -- at work, at school and in houses of worship.

For example, HRC's Corporate Equality Index, looks at Fortune 100 and 500 corporations and provides a ranking based on the companies inclusive policies and practices toward LGBT employees. A record 260 major U.S. employers scored a perfect 100 percent this year, a vast improvement over the first CEI rankings in 2002 when it was just 13. Today, more than nine-million people work for companies scoring 100 percent on the Corporate Equality Index.

HRC is doing the same for hospitals. In May, we released the Healthcare Equality Index with the goal of improving the rights and access of LGBT patients. The report inventoried the policies and practices of nearly 170 hospitals and clinics in dozens of states. It showed 73 percent of the hospitals provide equal rights based on sexual orientation and just seven percent on gender identity.

While those numbers may initially seem promising, hundreds of hospitals neglected to participate. And what does that mean? It tells us that it is easier to get to the bedside of our loved one by lying and saying we are the brother or sister, then to say we need access to the emergency room because our partner of 10 or 20 years needs us. No other families face that level of added stress in moments of critical care.

And finally, the "Clergy Call for Justice," a national conference by HRC's Religion and Faith Program, brought more than 300 clergy members this spring from all 50 states to lobby Congress on LGBT equality. Their visits to members of Congress were very often the first time lawmakers had ever heard religious leaders advocating for LGBT equality instead of railing against it.

It is critically important that people know and understand that LGBT people are also people of faith. HRC recently announced a strategic partnership with California Faith for Equality (CFE), a statewide group established to educate, support and mobilize California's faith communities on LGBT equality. The partnership joins CFE and its 6,000 supporting faith leaders with both HRC's Religion and Faith Program expertise as well as support from the National Field Department to broaden, diversify and deepen religious support for marriage equality in California.

This, of course, comes on the heels of our community's devastating loss in California where voters narrowly approved Proposition 8 which stripped away the right of same-sex couples to marry. Religion has too often been used as a weapon against us. At HRC, we understand the important work that needs to happen in churches and places of worship to achieve full equality.

When I look at all that HRC is doing -- across the full spectrum that embraces how we all -- LGBT or not -- congregate, communicate and shape the world around us -- I see change and promise everywhere I look. I see it on the factory floor and in Sunday services; in neighborhoods and school yards; and in the steady progress we're making on marriage equality, even in heartland states like Iowa and Maine.

Is the journey over? Far from it.

Patriotic men and women who serve this country must still struggle under a discriminatory military policy that denies them the right to simply be who they are. The poorly named Defense of Marriage Act stands in the way of legally married same-sex couples getting more than 1,100 federal rights and benefits every other married couple receives. HIV status in this country is still a stigma and issues surrounding health care access deny too many the care and support they need. The Family Medical Leave Act does not include our families, and we must close the economic gap by eliminating burdens like the tax couples pay for domestic partner benefits.

Our job at the Human Rights Campaign is not simple, it is not monolithic but it is ever challenging and game-changing. Yes, we must elect more fair minded people to higher office, win overdue protections and erase undue burdens legislatively, and help broaden and strengthen the loving net of marriage equality.

But along the way, whether in public schools or the workplace or neighborhoods and health care settings, we must also move hearts and minds. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.