On Friday, Ellen DeGeneres tried to thank President Barack Obama for work towards LGBTQ rights and protections, and he made sure to thank her in return.
After Ellen praised Obama for his championing of same-sex marriage, his orders to protect LGBTQ people in the workplace, and his repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t tell, Obama responded:
As much as we’ve done with laws and ending Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, etc., changing hearts and minds, I don’t think anybody’s been more influential than you on that.…
Your courage, and you’re just really likable… You being willing to claim who you were then suddenly empowers other people. And then suddenly it’s your brother, it’s your uncle, it’s your best friend, it’s your co-workers. And then attitudes shift, and the laws followed. But it started with folks like you.
If you talk to advocacy groups, they’ll tell you a very similar narrative.Freedom to Marry in particular is credited with changing hearts and minds — which allowed the laws to change by building support — by getting people to simply come out to their friends and families. Once that happened, people realized that same-sex couples are, really, just like opposite-sex couples. And so change swept through America.”
Watch the two discuss the state of things below.
H/t: LGBTQ Nation
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Rick Holtz
They’re both nauseating.
Brian
Ellen has made money. Money, money, money. I see her as empowering her bank account.
A gay-identifying man would never have made it like she did. That’s because gay-identifying women are given preferential treatment over gay-identifying men.
As for Obama, yes he was good at the symbolic level. But he did virtually nothing at the real world level. Obama was really uninterested in enacting federal laws against homosexual discrimination when the Democrats had a super-majority in Congress.
1EqualityUSA
Obama had a great sense of timing. Petulant child. Tighten your chin strap, Brian.
Franklin
Anyone who thinks any the strides we have achieved in gay rights over the last eight years would have happened under John Mccain or Mitt Romney is extremely delusional. Hats off to President Obama and Joe Biden for moving the needle forward on gay rights.
Xzamilio
@Franklin: Precisely. The first sitting president to support LGBT rights and marriage equality? You can’t beat that… he, like Clinton, dragged his feet on the process, but hey. At this point, the anti-marriage equality bunch are the minority, which is like catnip for that bunch with their persecution complex
o.codone
It’s all about him. When it was politically expedient to be “between a man and a woman”, he was. Then he needed some accomplishments for his tenure in office, ANY accomplishment, and he chose gay marriage and opened a consulate in Havana, because this guy cannot do the hard stuff. What a puss.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/may/11/barack-obama/president-barack-obamas-shift-gay-marriage/
1EqualityUSA
This is how nothing-burger the GOP supporters are. They have nothing, so they go back in time, culling the web to find something, anything, and try to make it stick. Face it, the Republicans have nothing and it is obvious. Keep digging around in the pen, though there are no truffles to be had.
Kieran
Well deserved praise directed at President Obama. He has been the most decidedly Pro-Gay Head of State this country has ever had.
Stefano
@Kieran: Yep you can be proud of him.
JessPH
Best.President.Ever.
Only Hillary can continue his legacy.
paul dorian lord fredine
one of the things that crossed my mind while watching this was could you imagine a ‘president’ trump or cruz (i’ll pause here to gag) doing such a sit down? of course cruz would probably try to make shows like ellen’s illegal (the bible, you know). so proud of both ellen and obama.
GayEGO
What a great display of loving and inclusiveness, it certainly wins over the stupid-religious-extremist GOP candidates.
Kangol
@Kieran: +1
Captain Obvious
If Obama was white people wouldn’t be so against praising him for anything but he’s the wrong color so every little thing he does is wrong.
Spoiled brats.
youarekiddingme
@Rick Holtz: Ok, ok Mr. Republican, Donald Trump Lover!!! Looked at your Facebook Page. Aren’t you the interesting one!! You think that since the “fence” (not the wall he’s talking about) dividing North and South Korea with 30,000 US Troops (for 60 years) has “worked” then a “wall” in the US would “work” too…Have you ever served in the military? Do you have any idea of those rules of engagement vs the crap that would have to be done in the US against unarmed sick men, women and children? You want to shoot them too? Your head must be as full of MUSH as dear Donald’s is!!
Who’s Nauseating? YOU…AND THE DONALD!!! Imbeciles!!
youarekiddingme
@o.codone: Great Comments coming from a guy who LOVES METHAMPHETAMINES!!! You also happen to be a NURSE too don’t you?
Got the NERVE to talk about our first Black American President? The only American President to actually make strides for LGBTQ Rights?
Take some more Meth…