Remarks by the [US-]President at LGBT Pride Month Reception

Remarks by the President at LGBT Pride Month Reception

East Room

5:17 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hey!  Hey!  Hey!  (Applause.)  So this is rowdy crowd.  (Applause.)  I don’t want you guys to break anything while you’re here now.  (Laughter.)  Thank you, Megan, for the wonderful introduction and, more importantly, the great work that you are doing.  We’ve got some outstanding members of Congress here today, including Leader Nancy Pelosi.  Give Nancy a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  I want to thank all of you -- advocates, organizers, friends, families -- for being here today.

Over the years, we’ve gathered to celebrate Pride Month, and I’ve told you that I’m so hopeful about what we can accomplish.  I’ve told you that the civil rights of LGBT Americans is --

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  President Obama!

THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, hold on a second.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible), President Obama!

THE PRESIDENT:  Okay, you know what -- no, no, no, no, no, 
no, no.  No, no, no, no, no.  

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  President Obama --

THE PRESIDENT:  Hey --

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Listen, you’re in my house.  (Laughter and 
applause.)  You don’t -- come on.  It’s not -- you know what, it’s not respectful when you get invited to somebody --

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  President Obama (inaudible).  

THE PRESIDENT:  You’re not going to -- you’re not going to 
get a good response from me by interrupting me like this.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  President Obama --

THE PRESIDENT:  I’m sorry.  I’m sorry.

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  No, no, no, no.  No, no.  No.  Shame on 
you.  You shouldn’t be doing this.  

AUDIENCE:  Obama!  Obama!  Obama!

THE PRESIDENT:  Can we escort this person out?  Come on. 
You can either stay and be quiet, or we’ll have to take you out.  All right, can we have this person removed, please?

THE PRESIDENT:  Come on.  

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  President Obama --

THE PRESIDENT:  Come on.  Come on.  Nope.  No.  Come on.  Come on, guys.  I’m just going to wait until we get this done.  

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible) deportations!  No more deportations!

THE PRESIDENT:  Okay, where was I?  (Laughter and applause.)  So as a general rule, I am just fine with a few hecklers -- (laughter) -- but not when I’m up in the house.  (Applause.)  You know what I mean?  You know, my attitude is if you’re eating the hors d’oeuvres -- (laughter) -- you know what I’m saying?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I do.

THE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  And drinking the booze.  I know that’s right.  

Anyway, where was I?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you!

THE PRESIDENT:  I love you back.  (Applause.)  

So the civil rights of LGBT Americans, this is an issue whose time has come.  And we’ve got a lot to celebrate because of your hard work.  And there are people here who have been working these issues for decades.  And so this is something where it’s bearing fruit today, but it has to do with courage that was happening in obscurity and incredible difficulty.  And I am so honored to be a part of seeing all that hard work pay off.

A lot of what we’ve accomplished over these last six and a half years has been because of you.  Because of the groundwork that you and so many of you laid before, from sophisticated national campaigns to small, quiet acts of defiance -- together, we’ve been able to do more to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans than at any time in our history.  (Applause.)  

Together, we ended “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  (Applause.)    We passed a historic hate crimes bill named in part after Matthew Shepard.  (Applause.)  We lifted the HIV entry ban, and this summer, we’re going to be updating our national HIV/AIDS strategy which will focus on eliminating disparities that gay and bisexual men and transgender women face.  (Applause.)  We strengthened the Violence Against Women Act to protect LGBT victims.  (Applause.)  Hospitals that accept Medicare and Medicaid are now required to treat LGBT patients the same as everybody else.  (Applause.)  The pillar of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.  (Applause.)  Just yesterday, we announced that insurance companies that cover federal workers will no longer be able to prohibit gender transition services.  (Applause.)  

And, of course, we’re now awaiting the Supreme Court’s ruling on whether same-sex couples nationwide have the equal right to marry.  (Applause.)  There are a few decisions coming down these next few days -- (laughter) -- that I'm paying close attention to.  But however the decision comes down on the marriage issue, one thing is undeniable -- there has been this incredible shift in attitudes across the country.

When I became President, same-sex marriage was legal in only two states.  Today, it’s legal in 37 states -- (applause) -- and the District of Columbia.  A decade ago, politicians ran against LGBT rights.  Today, they’re running towards them.  (Applause.)  Because they’ve learned what the rest of the country knows -- that marriage equality is about our civil rights, and our firm belief that every citizen should be treated equally under the law.

Now, we all know there’s a lot more that we can and must do.  In 2015, at a time when we have laws that say Americans can’t be fired for the color of their skin or their religion or if they have a disability, it is wrong that hardworking Americans still live in fear of being fired simply because of who they are or who they love.  

That’s why I’ve repeatedly called on Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would explicitly prohibit discrimination against LGBT workers.  (Applause.)  And that’s why we’ve got to keep the pressure on until they do it.  (Applause.)  

In the meantime, we’re doing what we can to protect workers.  Last year, my administration prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity by federal contractors, for federal employees.  (Applause.)  And that's protecting an estimated 1.5 million Americans.

I support efforts to ban conversion therapy for minors.  It has no basis in science.  (Applause.)  Every young person -- no matter who they are or what they look like or what gender they identify as -- deserves to be valued and loved for who they are.

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