Southern Nevadans are offering their opinions of President Obama’s final State of the Union Address.
A watch party took place Tuesday evening that was hosted by the Service Employees International Union Local 1107 and the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada.
Most who attended are Democrats, but non-partisans and undocumented immigrants also wanted to hear what the president had to say.
The issues President Obama mentioned that generated the most applause included health care reform and the improving economy.
Some of the attendees, however, say they wanted to see more from the president.
“Some of the initiatives at the end – My Brother’s Keeper and the Yes You Can for young girls of color – I wish those could have been implemented earlier, and that we can take them a little bit further,” said speech watcher Erika Washington.
“We don’t have protection across the nation for the workplace,” said speech watcher Rafael Lopez. “We can be fired just for being gay, being transgender at the moment. That’s what we need to do. Surprisingly, we got marriage first before that.”
The only loud jeering at the watch party came when the camera showed controversial Kentucky clerk Kim Davis who last year refused to authorize same-sex marriage licenses over her personal objections.
Republicans also weighed in after the speech.
U.S. Senator Dean Heller (Nevada-R) said in a statement, “President Obama failed to offer serious solutions to the problems facing our nation. Our economy continues to lag. Businesses in Nevada and nationwide are struggling due to endless mounds of red tape. Obamacare has proved to be unaffordable. Spending has reached an all-time high, and a failed foreign policy has led to increased threats to our homeland and abroad. To say the American people are eager for change would be an understatement.”
Community advocates used the watch party to register people to vote and gave out information on the Nevada caucuses coming up next month.
