Tonight, President Obama will deliver his eighth and final State of the Union address. From a record number of appointments of LGBT judges and ambassadors, to the institution of far-reaching administrative and regulatory policy changes, President Barack Obama has been a stalwart champion of the LGBT community.
President Obama has signed the only signature pieces of LGBT-inclusive legislation to be passed by Congress:
– The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
– The repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
– And the first-ever LGBT-inclusive Violence Against Women Act re-authorization.
The administration has also proactively instituted many far-reaching administrative and regulatory policy changes that have dramatically improved the lives of LGBT people in all 50 states and around the world.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has summarized President Obama’s commitment to LGBT equality and you can view that here.
However, HRC warns, “The patchwork of current LGBT legal protections leaves millions subject to uncertainty and potential discrimination that impacts their safety, their family and their way of life. We’ll be watching, not just to celebrate how far we’ve come, but to keep pressure on elected officials to continue to move the needle toward full LGBT equality.”
