Wed. January 12, 2011
Washington, DC -
While former President Bill Clinton has embraced gay marriage, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton isn't coming around to join him. Clinton made her remarks in a cover story with gay glossy The Advocate.
In 2009, Bill Clinton had an epiphany on the issue, saying repeatedly that he had been "wrong" to oppose gay marriage.
"I had all these gay friends, I had all these gay couple friends, and I was hung up about it," he said.
"And I decided I was wrong. … I think it's a good thing not a bad thing. And I just realized that, I was, probably for, maybe just because of my age and the way I've grown up, I was wrong about that."
As president, Clinton signed the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the law that defines marriage as a heterosexual union for the federal government. DOMA bars married gay couples from receiving federal benefits such as Social Security and pensions. The law also allows states to ignore legal gay marriages performed outside their borders.
An interesting side note about Clinton. He said he was "evolving" on the issue five months before he altered course. Similarly, President Barack Obama recently used the same term to describe his position on the issue.
Hillary Clinton – considered the most high-profile gay ally in the administration – hasn't joined her husband on the issue of marriage.
"Well, I share his experience because we obviously share a lot of the same friends, but I have not changed my position [on gay marriage]," she told the magazine.
For the record, Clinton supports civil unions for gay and lesbian couples.
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