Barack Obama Becomes The First Sitting President To Grace The Cover of A LGBT Magazine

Well there is always a first time for everything, the first you rode a bike, the first you popped your cherry and in President Obama’s case, the first time he made it on the cover of a LGBT magazine.

U.S President Barack Obama made history by becoming the first sitting president on the cover of a Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Magazine. The president was named as the ‘Ally of the Year’ in Out Magazine’s Out 100 list of 2015

In the issue, the president dished on his first gay encounter, why he decided to make LGBT a key focus in his administration, and raising his daughters in an era where there is less discrimination to LGBT community as opposed to his generation.

On the first gay person he met

”I’m not sure who the first openly gay person I met was, but Dr. Lawrence Goldyn, one of my college professors, is a man who stands out to me. I took his class freshman year at Occidental. I was probably 18 years old — Lawrence was one of the younger professors — and we became good friends. He went out of his way to advise lesbian, gay, and transgender students at Occidental, and keep in mind, this was 1978. That took a lot of courage, a lot of confidence in who you are and what you stand for. I got to recognize Lawrence last year at our Pride Month reception at the White House, and thank him for influencing the way I think about so many of these issues.”

On when he realized that LGBT equality would be a key focus for his administration?

”This really goes back to when I was a kid, because my mom instilled in me the strong belief that every person is of equal worth. At the same time, 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. 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. That’s why, in the Senate, I supported repealing DOMA [the Defense of Marriage Act]. It’s why, when I ran for president the first time, I publicly asked for the support of the LGBT community, and promised that we could bring about real change for LGBT Americans. ”

Click here to visit Out Magazine for the full feature

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