It was announced on Tuesday (Nov. 10) that Barack Obama has become the first President in U.S. history to cover an LGBT publication after being named “Ally of the Year” by OUT Magazine, CNN reports.
The publication, which celebrates the homosexual and transgendered communities and offers a fresh perspective on a multitude of industries, praises the 44th POTUS for leading the fight for marriage equality.
“…his late-hour conversion in 2012, which set the stage for the extraordinary succession of events that led to this year’s Supreme Court ruling, on June 26, making it unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the right to wed,” the website reads.
EXCLUSIVE: @POTUS on #marriageequality: “I was proud to say that love is love.” https://t.co/h9GBgXcoOZ #Out100 pic.twitter.com/YcmFZ5QaT9
— Out Magazine (@outmagazine) November 10, 2015
#BarackObama is the 1st U.S. president to be photographed for an #LGBT publication: https://t.co/bAo1A8CwYL #Out100 pic.twitter.com/Tdd8KJtKqq
— Out Magazine (@outmagazine) November 10, 2015
During an interview with the publication, Obama, who recently allocated $300 million in an effort to fight HIV infections for African women, said that his upbringing helped him realize that equality for all was necessary.
“…growing up as a black guy with a funny name, I was often reminded of exactly what it felt like to be on the outside,” he told Out‘s Aaron Hicklin. “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 also notes that the attitude shift of the younger generation, especially his daughters Sasha and Malia, when it comes to discrimination has been remarkable and eye-opening. “It doesn’t dawn on them that friends who are gay or friends’ parents who are same-sex couples should be treated differently than anyone else. That’s powerful,” he explained. “The next generation is spurring change not just for future generations, but for my generation, too. As president, and as a dad, that makes me proud. It makes me hopeful.”
READ: President Obama’s Congressional Black Caucus Speech Was All About The Ladies
During the conversation, he likened LGBT people’s uphill battle for acceptance to the struggles of African Americans and other minorities. However, he said that as a country, things seem to be improving when it comes to LGBT issues.
“When we talk about LGBT issues, we emphasize the importance of universal human rights — the right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly and the importance of non-violence, non-discrimination and equality under the law — and those don’t change or go away just because someone is a member of the LGBT community,” he said. “So, while some people try to claim that homosexuality doesn’t exist in their culture or that we are trying to impose ‘foreign’ values, the truth is that LGBT people are members of all societies and the protection of human rights is a universal value.”
Can he get any more likable? Read the entire interview here.