Michelle Obama Takes No Nonsense From Heckler

She tells crowd to choose who stays
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 5, 2013 2:55 AM CDT
Updated Jun 5, 2013 7:52 AM CDT
Michelle Obama Confronts Gay-Rights Heckler
“Listen to me or you can take the mic, but I’m leaving," Obama said. "You all decide. You have one choice."   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Michelle Obama—taking a harder line on heckling than her husband tends to do—confronted a woman who interrupted her speech at a Democratic fundraiser last night, the New York Times reports. After the woman shouted about gay rights, Obama said, "One of the things I don’t do well is this," and moved toward the heckler. As the crowd cheered, she said the woman could "listen to me, or you can take the mike, but I’m leaving. You all decide. You have one choice."

The crowd shouted that they wanted Obama to stay and the heckler was escorted out of the room. The woman, who demanded that the president sign an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against gays and lesbians, says she was "taken aback" by the first lady's response—and the reaction from the audience. "I was surprised by how negative the crowd seemed to be," she tells the Huffington Post. "It was actually a little unsettling and disturbing." (More Michelle Obama stories.)

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