The Final State of the Union
This is historical material “frozen in time”. The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.
Summary:
From hosting the 137th-annual White House Easter Egg Roll, to supporting efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors, the President had a productive week. See more in our Week in Review.
This week, the President supported efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors, participated in a roundtable focused on how climate change is harming our health, traveled to Jamaica to hold a town hall with students and meet with CARICOM, and joined the First Lady in hosting the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.
Find out more about the past week in our latest weekly wrap-up.
Why We Support Banning Conversion Therapy
More than 120,000 people signed a petition calling for a ban on the dangerous and unacceptable practice of conversion therapy -- and on Wednesday, we responded. The overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrates that conversion therapy is neither medically or ethically appropriate and can cause substantial harm. That’s why the Obama administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors.
120,915 Americans signed a @WeThePeople petition calling for a ban on conversion therapy for minors. We agree → http://t.co/TAZqqDP7BJ
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 9, 2015
Young people should be valued for who they are, no matter what gender they identify with, or who they love. In an effort to spread the word that no individual should be forced to be someone they're not, members of the Obama Administration sat down to share their message and echo the President's call to end conversion therapy for minors.
Read our petition response and learn more about why we need to ban conversion therapy.
Climate Change is Hurting Our Health
On Tuesday, President Obama participated in a roundtable at Howard University focused on how climate change is harming our health. Joined by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy, the President outlined what the Administration has already done to reduce the causes of climate change, and discussed ways to prepare our communities for the impacts it will have on our health, safety, and overall well-being.
Barack in Jamrock
President Obama was in Kingston, Jamaica yesterday for a meeting with Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller and other Caribbean leaders on the importance of improving energy security and fighting climate change. Prior to meeting with foreign leaders, the President swung by a museum dedicated to Bob Marley, a legendary Reggae singer-songwriter who was dedicated to making positive change in Jamaica. The President then held a town hall at the University of the West Indies where he took questions from the Young Leaders of the Americas.
"People who are trying to make this world worse are not taking the day off. Why should I?" —Obama quoting Bob Marley pic.twitter.com/wlM4jG9agQ
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 9, 2015
Watch the President answer questions at the town hall and see photos from the trip.
The 137th-Annual White House Easter Egg Roll
On Monday, President Obama and the First Lady welcomed more than 35,000 guests to the South Lawn for the 137th-annual White House Easter Egg Roll. This year's theme was #GimmeFive to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the First Lady's Let's Move! Initiative. Six of the guests were young Americans who began their journey to the White House by writing letters to the President. They not only received a response from the President, but also got an invite to join Monday’s fun.
Take a look at the highlights from this year’s Easter Egg Roll.
For more of the week's highlights, watch the latest edition of West Wing Week:
Want to stay up-to-date on what's going on at the White House on any given day? Make sure you're receiving our Daily Snapshot.
