How Obama Made His Second Inaugural Address A Landmark Moment For LGBT Equality
By Zack Ford on Jan 21, 2013 at 12:28 pm
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2013/01/21/1475291/president-obama-lauds-lgbt-equality-in-second-inauguration-address/?mobile=ncPresident Obama just concluded what was arguably the most inclusive inaugural address ever delivered by any president. Of particular note was his inclusion of a direct call for marriage equality for gays and lesbians, reflecting the milestone from last May when he became the first president of the United States to ever make such an endorsement:
We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.
It is now our generation's task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.