President Barack Obama on Tuesday said that he had “no patience”
for countries that discriminate against LGBT persons.
Obama made his remarks during an appearing on NBC's The Tonight
Show.
The president told host Jay Leno that he did not believe a
recently approved Russian law that prohibits the positive portrayal
of gay men and lesbians in a public venue where minors might be
present will have any impact on the Winter Olympics to be held in
Sochi.
“I think [President Vladimir] Putin and Russia have a big stake
in making sure that the Olympics work, and I think that they
understand that for most of the countries that participate in the
Olympics we wouldn't tolerate gays and lesbian being treated
differently,” Obama said. “They are athletes. They are there to
compete. And if Russia wants to uphold the Olympic spirit, then
every judgment should be made on the track or in the swimming pool or
on the balance beam and people's sexual orientation shouldn't have
anything to do with it.”
He added that he had “no patience for countries that try to
treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate
them or are harmful to them.” (The video is embedded on this page.
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