"Ally. Hero. Icon." Three simple words, but enough to express the feelings that prompted the editors at Out Magazine to name President Barack Obama, the first sitting president to be photographed for the cover of the LGBT publication, as "Ally of the Year" in the newest OUT100 2015 issue.
The editors called the moment "historic" and said Obama was selected as "a statement on how much his administration has done to advance a singularly volatile issue that tarnished the reputations of both President Clinton and President Bush," reports Bloomberg News.
"You do not get much time with the president for a photo shoot - about four minutes, five if you're lucky - and there's something surreal and tense about kicking your heels in the White House library while waiting for your subject to materialize. Yet when the president walks into the room - and it's a small room, lined with books and a few ornamental swords, one gifted to George Washington by the French - the air rushes in with him. It's hard not to be starstruck. A little turn this way, a little that way, an ice-breaking joke," wrote Aaron Hicklin, the magazine's editor, describing his interaction with Obama, according to the Washington Post.
During the interview, Obama talked about his relationship with the LGBT community, the administration's accomplishments with LGBT rights, and how his daughters have made him aware of changing attitudes towards homosexuality.
Obama said that his mother taught him that "every person was of equal worth." Additionally, Obama credits Lawrence Goldyn for helping shape his thoughts which led him to focus on LGBT rights during his tenure.
"He went out of his way to advise lesbian, gay and transgender students...and keep in mind, this was 1978. That took a lot of courage, a lot of confidences in who you are and what you stand for," Obama told the magazine, according to CNN.
During the interview, Obama said that he found conversion therapy "harmful" and wanted the practice ended.
"To Malia and Sasha and their friends, discrimination in any form against anyone doesn't make sense. It doesn't dawn on them that friends who are gay or friends' parents who are same-sex couple should be treated any differently. That's powerful," he said, talking about how his daughters view the issue, reports CNN.
