THE ADVOCATE: The speech marked the first time a president used the term 'gay' as a reference to sexual orientation in an inauguration speech. Prayers and poems carried messages of inclusion as well.
President Obama’s speech for his second inauguration broke new ground in inclusiveness, with the first use of the word “gay” in reference to sexual orientation and a call for LGBT equality.
“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law — for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well,” Obama said.
He also invoked the Stonewall riots of 1969, which marked the beginning of the modern gay rights movement, as a milestone in civil rights history. “We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths — that all of us are created equal — is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall,” the president said.
Gay CNN reporter Anderson Cooper commented on the historic nature of the speech. “For a president who only recently, to use his word, evolved on the issue of same-sex marriage, he made very forceful statements in this inaugural address, actually, historic statements on equal rights for gay and lesbian Americans,” Cooper said. » | Trudy Ring | Monday, January 21, 2012
