Social Policy
The Almanac of American Politics (2008) rated Obama's overall social policies in 2006 as more conservative than 21 percent of the Senate, and more liberal than 77 percent of the Senate (18 percent and 77 percent, respectively, in 2005).
In 2010, Obama signed into law the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 which ended a policy of not allowing gays to state their sexual orientation openly in the military. In May 2012, he became the first sitting U.S. president to announce his support for the legalization of same-sex marriage.
During his second inaugural address on January 21, 2013, Obama called for full equality for gays: “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law — for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.” This was a historic moment, being the first time that a president mentioned gay rights or the word "gay" in an inaugural address.
Read more about this topic: Political Positions Of Barack Obama
Famous quotes containing the words social and/or policy:
“As soon as you are in a social setting, you better take away the key to the lock of your heart and pocket it; those who leave the key in the lock are fools.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
“We legislate against forestalling and monopoly; we would have a common granary for the poor; but the selfishness which hoards the corn for high prices, is the preventative of famine; and the law of self-preservation is surer policy than any legislation can be.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)