It's confirmed. Love WINS. Obama just became the very first POTUS to appear on the front cover of an LGBT magazine. His face appears this month on the cover of Out Magazine. This president has brought many firsts to the Oval office but this one is something that should be noted across the pond.
“Part of being American is having a responsibility to stand up for freedom — not just our own freedom, but for everybody’s freedom,” Obama told the magazine.
Barack Obama appears in the magazine pages under their annual 100 most influential people in the LGBT community list; which I think we all have to admit is a huge shift in perspective and rightly so. Obama is named 'Ally Of The Year' with Out Magazine, he had the full works appearing in the OUT100 list, partaking in both an interview and photoshoot with the mag. Obama insists there is still work that needs to be done for the same sex marriage movement but his face to the cause builds more momentum now than ever before.
“This is the first time a sitting president has been photographed for the cover of an LGBT title,” Out’s editor-in-chief, Aaron Hicklin, wrote, “a historic moment in itself, and a statement on how much his administration has done to advance a singularly volatile issue that tarnished the reputations of both President Clinton and President Bush.”
Admittedly, it has taken a while but Obama has changed his opinion regarding same sex marriage being reserved for a man and a woman only, thank heavens for that. POTUS takes the opportunity during his interview with writer Aaron Hicklin for Out to explain his way from one side of the fence to the other during his presidency.
"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."
Photography by Ryan Pfluger in the White House Library on October 5, 2015.