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Barack and Michelle Obama
The most pro-LGBT president and first lady ever, Barack and Michelle Obama could make the list of coolest straight people every year. Yes, there were times early in his presidency that we wondered if he was really going to be the “fierce advocate” for LGBT people he had promised to be, but he has come through, and so has Michelle Obama. Among this year’s actions: The president condemned North Carolina’s anti-LGBT House Bill 2, took a groundbreaking and much-challenged stand for transgender equality in schools (with his Department of Education’s guidance) and elsewhere, met with loved ones of Pulse shooting victims, and stood up for LGBT rights at the United Nations and the Democratic National Convention. The first lady gave a shout-out to LGBT Americans in her rousing convention speech, and while in a speech earlier in the year, she encouraged the graduating class of Jackson State University in Mississippi to stand up against anti-LGBT laws like the “religious freedom” measure passed in that state, which was later struck down in court. “We’ve got to stand side by side with all our neighbors — straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender; Muslim, Jew, Christian, Hindu immigrant, Native American — because the march for civil rights isn’t just about African-Americans, it’s about all Americans,” she said. We will sorely miss the Obamas — all the more given who’s set to occupy the White House when they leave. But we expect they will continue to be activists for social justice, and they have brought up two daughters who will be fierce advocates as well.
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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.