BY NATASHA BARSOTTI – “I’ve often said the true genius of America is that America can change. We can pass laws to right wrongs. We can soften hardened attitudes,” American President Barack Obama said in a video on the White House website.
Obama’s statement in part: “As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month, we remember the activists and advocates who refused to be treated like second-class citizens. People like Jeanne Manford and Harvey Milk who marched and protested and believed in a better future. But we also remember the unsung heroes, the millions of LGBT Americans for whom everyday acts have required extraordinary courage: the young people who came out as gay or transgendered to their parents not knowing what to expect; the two moms or two dads who went to an open house or PTA meeting not knowing how they’d be received; the couple that got married even if their bosses or neighbours wouldn’t approve — at least not right away. Most of these heroes didn’t set out to make history, but that’s what they did.
Watch the full statement:
Obama has declared June Pride month every year since he took office in 2009.
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