By Susan Heavey
WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) – Former U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton, a potential 2016 presidential candidate,
said on Monday she backs marriage rights for gay Americans.
In a video for the gay rights advocacy group Human Rights
Campaign, Clinton said she supports gay marriage “personally and
as a matter of policy and law.”
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender “Americans are our
colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved
ones, and they are full and equal citizens and deserve the
rights of citizenship. That includes marriage,” Clinton said in
the 5-minute-long video posted on YouTube (http://youtu.be/6RP9pbKMJ7c).
Her comments come amid a wave of similar declarations from
other politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, and as the
U.S. Supreme Court is considering two gay marriage
cases.
President Barack Obama last year announced his support for
gay marriage, which is already permitted in nine of the 50 U.S.
states and Washington, D.C.
Earlier this month, Clinton’s husband, former President Bill
Clinton, also addressed the issue, saying the 1996 law he signed
defining marriage as between a man and woman was
unconstitutional and should be overturned.
The Republican Party opposed gay marriage in its 2012
convention platform, but some notable Republicans have broken
ranks.
Among them is Ohio Senator Rob Portman, who on Friday became
the most prominent Republican lawmaker to support gay marriage,
influenced, he said, by learning that his son was
gay. Republican leaders, however, were quick to
reiterate their opposition to gay marriage.
During her unsuccessful campaign for the 2008 Democratic
presidential nomination, Clinton said she supported civil unions
for gay couples but did not say she backed same-sex marriage.
Clinton has been coy about her political future after
stepping down as secretary of state earlier this year, but polls
show she maintains her popularity as a potential Democratic
presidential nominee in the 2016 election.
Explaining how her view had changed, Clinton cited her human
rights work during her four years as the top U.S. diplomat and
her own faith. She also cited the happiness she and her husband
felt when their daughter, Chelsea Clinton, married a few years
ago.
“I wish every parent that same joy,” she said.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Fred Barbash and
Mohammad Zargham)
