Obama: ‘It’s not just laws that are changing, it’s hearts and minds’

President Barack Obama told gay donors Tuesday that American society and its laws have advanced the cause of gay rights over the past 10 years but said the job was hardly over in the US and especially abroad. “It’s not just laws that are changing, it’s hearts and minds,” he said before supporters at a Democratic National Committee fundraising dinner for GLBT donors.

To a raucous embrace, President Barack Obama told gay donors Tuesday that American society and its laws have advanced the cause of gay rights over the past 10 years but said the job was hardly over in the US and especially abroad.

“It’s not just laws that are changing, it’s hearts and minds,” he said before 550 supporters at a Democratic National Committee fundraising dinner for GLBT donors.

He received a loud standing ovation when he declared that he had directed the White House to prepare an executive order barring discrimination by federal contractors on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Obama lacks authority to extend that protection to all Americans.

He wants Congress to pass a broader non-discrimination measure that would apply to nearly all employers.

He urged supporters to keep pressure on Congress, noting that there are more states that allow same-sex marriage than have laws specifically protecting gays against workplace discrimination.

via AP

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