Two victims of the Boston Marathon bombings and the first openly gay NBA player are among Michelle Obama's guest list for the president's State of the Union speech on Tuesday, Boston.com reported.
Jeff Bauman, a 27-year-old who lost both of his legs to the attack, and Carlos Arredondo, the 53-year-old that wheeled him out of the scene, will be in attendance.
A picture of Arredondo, wearing a cowboy hat while helping Bauman to safety, became one of the many iconic images published in articles and shared on social media following the bombings. Though Bauman was in need of immediate medical attention, Arrendondo made a tourniquet for him from a sweater sleeve that ultimately saved his life.
As Boston.com reported, Bauman played an instrumental part in describing Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev and lead investigators to identifying the brothers responsible for the attack.
More notable guests include Jason Collins, who last year became the first male athlete in a professional sports league to come out as gay in the U.S.; Gary Bird, the fire chief in Moore, Oklahoma where a tornado struck last May; Joey Hudy, a 16-year-old student from Arizona who became Intel's youngest intern; and Kathy Hollowel-Makle, D.C.'s 2013 teacher of the year.
All guests will be seated next to the first lady, Dr. Jill Biden, and White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. The entire guest list has yet to be announced for the address, which will begin at 9:00 p.m.
According to POLITICO, guests of the first lady usually represent talking points to be brought up by the president. Last year, Obama invited family members of the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting and discussed stricter gun legislation.
