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Texas Restaurant Worker Gets Gay-Supportive Fist Bump From Obama

Texas Restaurant Worker Gets Gay-Supportive Fist Bump From Obama

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After shouting 'Equal rights for gay people!' the employee got a gesture of solidarity from the president.

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A gay employee at Franklin Barbecue in Austin had "a lucky day to be the register girl" Thursday, as he not only got to wait on President Obama but got a fist bump in support of LGBT rights.

Daniel Rugg Webb, a musician and comedian who works part-time at the restaurant, was on duty at the register as the president came up to pay for more than $300 worth of takeout, The Austin Chronicle reports. Webb slapped the counter and shouted, "Equal rights for gay people!" Obama asked, "Are you gay?" and Webb replied, "Only when I have sex."

"That's when he laughed and said, 'Bump me,'" Webb told the Chronicle. Several onlookers photographed the fist bump and circulated the photo on Twitter. "It was just a lucky day to be the register girl," Webb added.

The president's presence at the restaurant was not unexpected; Secret Service agents had scoped out the eatery earlier in the day and let employees know he was coming in to pick up food for his travel party after giving a speech in Austin. But Webb found the nature of the interaction a pleasant surprise.

"As a comedian, it was cool to have a moment where I was making a sitting president laugh -- over something that might be considered inappropriate is a bonus," Webb told BuzzFeed Saturday.

He said he is pleased that Obama is a strong supporter of gay rights, but he wishes the president would be tougher on antigay politicians, such as Texas governor Rick Perry. "If Rick Perry would've walked in, I would have lost my job," Webb told the Chronicle.

Webb added that he's carrying on a family tradition of meeting presidents; his mother got to shake hands with John F. Kennedy in Fort Worth just hours before his assassination in Dallas.

He also noted that Obama readily engaged with others at the restaurant. One woman handed him a note that said "Stop Deportations" and "They had kind of a real conversation, direct," Webb told the Chronicle. "You don't just get face time with world leaders. I was impressed that he had a serious conversation with somebody in the middle of what would be a photo op."

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.