USA at a turning point on gay rights: Obama

US President Barack Obama has said the country has reached a turning point on gay rights, noting that America needs to get marriage equality done now.
"I agree that we're not going to have to wait that long -- because from Minnesota to Maryland, from the United States Senate to the NBA, it's clear we're reaching a turning point. We've become not just more accepting; we've become more loving, as a country, and as a people. Hearts and minds change with time. Laws do, too," Obama said at a White House event to celebrate LGBT Pride Month yesterday.
"Change like that isn't something that starts here in Washington, but it's something that has the power that Washington has a great deal of difficulty resisting over time," Obama said.

"It's something that comes from the courage of those who stood up, and sat in, and came out. It's something that comes from the compassion of family and friends and coworkers and teammates who show their love and support," said the US President.
These change, Obama said, can be traced back to the Declaration of Independence -- the fundamental principle that all of us are created equal. "And as I said in my Inaugural Address, if we truly are created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well," he said.
"We know from our own history that change happens because people push to make it happen. We've got to do the hard work of educating others, showing empathy to others, changing hearts and minds. And when we do that, then change occurs. It doesn't come always as quickly as we like, but progress comes," he said.