Dubbed the “first gay President” due to his unwavering support of the LGBT community, President Barack Obama covers Out Magazine for their 100th issue and is bestowed the honor of “Ally Of The Year.”
As the first president to grace the cover of such a magazine, Obama opens up about his encounter with an openly gay man to his dealings with the gay community during the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s when he first started working in Chicago. He also touches on the bridge between human rights and gay rights.
“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. 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.”
He opens up in the interview about advice he gives his daughters, Malia and Sasha, to not discriminate against fellow students or friends who are either gay or have parents in same sex relationships.
