Obama first President to include words 'lesbian', 'bisexual' & 'trans' in a speech

Obama has become the first President of the United States to use the terms ‘bisexual’,’lesbian’ and ‘transgender’ in a speech.

In his State of Union address last night (January 20), the President made history by using the three terms, in a move that’s been welcomed by LGBT charities following the tragic death of trans teen Leelah Alcorn last month (December).

“That’s why we defend free speech, and advocate for political prisoners, and condemn the persecution of women, or religious minorities, or people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender,” Obama said. “We do these things not only because they’re right, but because they make us safer.”

He went on to add that since becoming President, he’s witnessed same-sex marriage grow from a “wedge issue” to a nationwide “story of freedom”:

“I’ve watched Americans beat back adversity from the Gulf Coast to the Great Plains; from Midwest assembly lines to the Mid-Atlantic seaboard.

“I’ve seen something like gay marriage go from a wedge issue used to drive us apart to a story of freedom across our country, a civil right now legal in states that seven in ten Americans call home,” he added.

Obama first President to include words ‘lesbian’, ‘bisexual’ & ‘trans’ in a speech

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