The Obama administration said Tuesday it supports the Equality Act, which would include gender, sexual orientation and gender identity as factors that cannot be the basis of discrimination or segregation.
“The administration strongly supports the Equality Act,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Tuesday. “That bill is historic legislation that would advance equality for millions of Americans. We certainly are pleased with the many legislators that have taken this step forward” to move the bill for LGBT Americans, he said of the bill’s 170 co-sponsors, all of whom are Democrats.
Earnest said the Obama administration looks forwarding to working with Congress to make sure the final bill extends civil liberties while protecting religious liberties, although the bill is not expected to move in the Republican Congress.
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Earnest made those remarks on the same day that OUT magazine said it has chosen President Obama as its “ally of the year.” Obama will be featured on the cover of OUT’s next issue, which hits newsstands Nov. 17.
“This marks the first time in history that a sitting president has been photographed for the cover of an LGBT publication, a historic moment in a historic year,” the magazine said in a statement.
In the magazine, Obama explains his dedication to LGBT rights.
“One of the reasons I got involved in politics was to help deliver on our promise that we’re all created equal, and that no one should be excluded from the American dream just because of who they are,” he told the magazine. “That’s why, in the Senate, I supported repealing [the Defense of Marriage Act]. It’s why, when I ran for president the first time, I publicly asked for the support of the LGBT community, and promised that we could bring about real change for LGBT Americans.”
Obama said he couldn’t remember the first openly gay person he met but said that an old college professor stands out in his memory — Dr. Lawrence Goldyn from when he attended Occidental College.
“He went out of his way to advise lesbian, gay and transgender students at Occidental, and keep in mind, this was 1978,” he told the magazine. “That took a lot of courage, a lot of confidence in who you are and what you stand for. I got to recognize Lawrence last year at our Pride Month reception at the White House, and thank him for influencing the way I think about so many of these issues.”
