President Barack Obama used his second inaugural address on Monday to push the case for equal rights for women and gays and a better system to welcome new immigrants to the United States.
“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths — that all of us are created equal — is the star that guides us still,” he declared, citing precedents from America’s civil, gay and women’s rights struggles.
“It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts,” he continued.
“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law — for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.
“Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity.”
Citing his attempt to pass reforms to shorten the route for undocumented migrants to gain US residency, he called for “young students and engineers” to be “enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.”
Obama urges rights for women, gays and immigrants
