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.”
— President Obama in an interview with Out magazine, in which he’s named “Ally of the Year”
Grant Mealey
Very cool ð???
Joseph Davoli
love obama !
Jack Kear
I´m not gonna read this but I hope it´s Paul Lynde.
alphacentauri
What about Frank Marshall Davis the bisexual communist he knew in Hawaii?
GayEGO
Excellent article, I love and respect President Obama for sharing this story and for supporting our community.
Giancarlo85
Obama has been there for our community and for this country. He had to pick up the pieces left behind the nasty republican party (who is still at it), and he has empowered millions to make their voices known. Thanks for the support of us all.
NateOcean
“advise”
Aromaeus
He’s by no means perfect (see the TPP) but he was a good president and whichever democrat takes the white house in 2016 is going to have a lot to live up to.
jckfmsincty
I wish I could vote for him, again.
Blackceo
I love this man so much. I think people set the bar too high for him and I even think he set his own expectations too high. What politician doesn’t? But to have had this man win the Presidency and get re-elected in the face of such scrutiny has been amazing. Don’t agree with all of his decisions, but he’s certainly better than what any GOP alternative would’ve been for me. He is the first sitting President to be in the cover of an LGBT magazine and for the Black community to see the First Family is a real sense of pride that is just indescribable because we didn’t think it would happen this soon. Glad Bobby Kennedy saw it as a possibility even in the turbulent 60s.
northwest
Out Magazine chose exactly the right person to honor. It’s too bad President Obama’s strong support of the LGBT community doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.
CivicMinded
Is this proof he never “evolved” but always had the same stance?