Barack Obama Recognised Lesbians, Bisexuals And Transgender People For The First Time In A ‘State Of The Union’; Called Marriage A “Civil Right”
"I’ve seen something like gay marriage go from a wedge issue used to drive us apart to a story of freedom across our country, a civil right."
Just over an hour ago, US President Barack Obama delivered his sixth State of the Union address, facing a congress now controlled by Republicans, and proposing far-reaching policy changes across the economy, education, healthcare and foreign affairs.
As always, it was a powerful piece of oratory, but it was an important moment for LGBT groups especially. When speaking about human dignity, the President condemned “the persecution of women, or religious minorities, or people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender” — recognising lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people for the first time ever in a State of the Union.
“We do these things not only because they’re right, but because they make us safer,” he continued.
He also declared marriage to be a civil right, underlining his support of marriage equality: “I’ve seen something like gay marriage go from a wedge issue used to drive us apart to a story of freedom across our country, a civil right now legal in states that seven in ten Americans call home.”
The House majority leader, Republican John Boehner, declined to join the standing ovation.
Although the statement is copping a little heat on Twitter for its wording — supporters prefer the more inclusive term “marriage equality” to “gay marriage” — it’s mostly being welcomed with ferver.
Wow, Obama promoting gay marriage as mainstream and no longer a “wedge” of the GOP. Great. #SOTU
— Mike Signorile (@MSignorile) January 21, 2015
"Gay marriage is an act of freedom." - Barack Obama Thank you, Mr. President #SOTU
— Michael Cabrera (@michaelacr) January 21, 2015
What a moving State of the Union address. The Obama of hope is back. Had tears when he spoke of gay marriage, Ferguson, bridging divides.
— Parmesh Shahani (@parmeshs) January 21, 2015
The rest of the speech — the full text of which was made available to the public in advance for the first time, on Medium — focused on a growing economy, low unemployment, cheaper and better education, and the end of America’s combat mission in Afghanistan. “The shadow of crisis has passed,” he said, “and the State of the Union is strong.”
Obama spent time highlighting new commitments for job creation; faster, freer internet; equal pay; free community college; more affordable, high-quality childcare; and fairer paid leave laws. He called on both parties to support free trade deals, and launched a new Precision Medicine Initiative to help bring America closer to curing diseases like cancer and diabetes.
And he proposed to pay for it all by closing loopholes, and taxing the 1%: “We can use that money to help more families pay for childcare and send their kids to college. We need a tax code that truly helps working Americans trying to get a leg up in the new economy, and we can achieve that together.”
In the wake of events in Ferguson and New York, Obama also called for reform of the criminal justice system, “so that it protects and serves us all”. He also called on Congress to grant him new authorisation of force against the Islamic State: “We will continue to hunt down terrorists and dismantle their networks, and we reserve the right to act unilaterally, as we’ve done relentlessly since I took office to take out terrorists who pose a direct threat to us and our allies.”
But he saved some of his strongest statements for the issue of climate change. “2014 was the planet’s warmest year on record,” he said. “Now, one year doesn’t make a trend, but this does — 14 of the 15 warmest years on record have all fallen in the first 15 years of this century.
“I’ve heard some folks try to dodge the evidence by saying they’re not scientists; that we don’t have enough information to act. Well, I’m not a scientist, either. But you know what — I know a lot of really good scientists at NASA, and NOAA, and at our major universities. The best scientists in the world are all telling us that our activities are changing the climate, and if we do not act forcefully, we’ll continue to see rising oceans, longer, hotter heat waves, dangerous droughts and floods, and massive disruptions that can trigger greater migration, conflict, and hunger around the globe. The Pentagon says that climate change poses immediate risks to our national security. We should act like it … I will not let this Congress endanger the health of our children by turning back the clock on our efforts. I am determined to make sure American leadership drives international action.”
The best moment came at the end, in Obama’s closing remarks. “I have no more campaigns to run,” he said, before the Republicans began smugly cheering.
And then came his ad-libbed smackdown: “I know, because I won both of them.”
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Read the full text of Obama’s State of the Union here.