LGBT activists among those invited to attend tonight’s State of the Union address

Smith praised Hepner in an interview with GA Voice last year.

“Tracey and I met in 2004 and were married in Washington, D.C., on 31 March 2012,” Smith said during our interview. “We were married at the Jefferson Memorial. She understands that a soldier wants to serve, and she marginalized herself so that I could serve. She understood that I had to compartmentalize my life and lead two separate lives. She understood, but it didn’t mean that as a civilian she had to be silent.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook is also among the First Lady’s guests tonight. He replaced the company’s founder Steve Jobs as CEO during Jobs’ battle with cancer in 2011. Cook previously worked with Compaq, IBM and other tech giants before taking on the role of Apple COO and eventually CEO.

Although Cook has been named to Out magazine’s list of most influential LGBT people, he is notoriously private about his personal life, and has refused comment on his sexual orientation since taking the helm of the world’s largest tech company. In an interview with Bloomberg, Cook stated: “I hate talking about me. You know, it’s not something I do well or do a lot. I generally avoid it.”

The State of the Union Address is tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST. The president is also expected to lay out his vision for gun control, immigration and the current state of the economy.

 

Top photo: Brig. Gen. Tammy Smith (right) and her wife Tracey Hepner, who will attend tonight’s State of the Union address as a personal guest of First Lady Michelle Obama (Photos courtesy U.S. Army Reserve)