Forget calling Barack Obama the first black president — he’s apparently considered the “first gay president,” according to MSNBC host Thomas Roberts.
On Monday morning, Roberts spoke with Shawn Gaylord, advocacy counsel for Human Rights First. The two men discussed Russia’s strong anti-gay marriage stance in light of the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics, as well as ways the United States could respond. Roberts pointed out that there are many points of friction between the U.S. and Russia already.
Recommended Stories
“So how do you think that the President can balance all the delicate foreign policy issues, but still take a decisive stand on human rights, because so many people consider President Obama to be the first gay president?” Roberts asked his guest.
“Right, well, that is something the President has to struggle with all the time,” Gaylord responded.
He added that the situation in Russia is getting “frightening” for homosexuals, implying that Obama should address gay rights, even while dealing with the other disputes.
It’s true that Obama hasn’t been shy about his support for homosexual couples. In June 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act — a section that limited the definition of ‘marriage’ under U.S. federal law to heterosexual unions. Obama praised the court’s decision.
“The Supreme Court has righted that wrong, and our country is better off for it,” he wrote in a statement on the ruling.
The President also signed a bill repealing the military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy in 2010, a fact that he often touts in campaign speeches.
Additionally, Bill Clinton has often been called the “first black president,” due to his upbringing and mannerisms. So maybe in Roberts’ mind Obama needed a different title to claim.
(h/t Mediaite)
