First Lady Michelle Obama (Photo: Michael Buckner/WireImage)
On Wednesday, First Lady Michelle Obama, a longtime supporter of the freedom to marry, will deliver the keynote address at an event celebrating LGBT delegates at the Democratic National Convention. Cosponsored by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and the Human Rights Campaign, the event is expected to host most than 600 attendees.
Four years ago, the first lady delivered a rousing speech at an LGBT delegate luncheon, offering strong support for equal rights while calling for an end to the stigma surrounding HIV. “We’ve got work to do before we achieve equality in the LGBT community,” she said. “We [Barack and I] took a public HIV test for the very point of showing folks in Kenya that there is nothing to be embarrassed about getting tested.”
Her address foreshadowed the Obama administrations record on civil rights, describing the world as is before then proposing an alternative. “In the world as it should be,” said the first lady, “we can work together to repeal laws like DOMA and ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and we can oppose divisive constitutional amendments that would strip civil rights and benefits away from LGBT americans because discimination has no place in a nation founded on the promise of equality.”
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