President Barack Obama included several references to LGBT rights during his final State of the Union address delivered Tuesday night.

Obama's nearly one hour speech touched on major issues facing the country, including climate change and defeating violent extremism.

“So, my fellow Americans, whatever you may believe, whether you prefer one party or no party, our collective future depends on your willingness to uphold your obligations as a citizen,” Obama said. “To vote. To speak out. To stand up for others, especially the weak, especially the vulnerable, knowing that each of us is only here because somebody, somewhere, stood up for us. To stay active in our public life so it reflects the goodness and decency and optimism that I see in the American people every single day.”

“It won’t be easy. Our brand of democracy is hard. But I can promise that a year from now, when I no longer hold this office, I’ll be right there with you as a citizen – inspired by those voices of fairness and vision, of grit and good humor and kindness that have helped America travel so far. Voices that help us see ourselves not first and foremost as black or white or Asian or Latino, not as gay or straight, immigrant or native born; not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans first, bound by a common creed. Voices Dr. King believed would have the final word – voices of unarmed truth and unconditional love.”

“They're out there, those voices. … It's the son who finds the courage to come out as who he is, and the father whose love for that son overrides everything he's been taught.”

Obama also made reference to the Supreme Court's June ruling which found that gay and lesbian couples have a constitutional right to marry.

“[I]t's that spirit [of America] that made the progress of these past seven years possible. It's how we recovered from the worst economic crisis in generations. It's how we reformed our health care system, and reinvented our energy sector; how we delivered more care and benefits to our troops and veterans, and how we secured the freedom in every state to marry the person we love.”

LGBT rights advocated applauded the president's speech. Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), tweeted that Obama “delivered a powerful call for courage, optimism, respect and unconditional love.”