Hillary Clinton Fully Supports Same-Sex Marriage, A "Constitutional Right" For All
Hillary Clinton is making her position on same-sex marriage crystal clear as her 2016 Presidential campaign kicks off, telling America that marriage is a "constitutional right" that should be guaranteed to all Americans.
A spokeswoman for the former FLOTUS delivered the statement to the Washington Blade yesterday, saying Clinton joins other Democrats in hoping the Supreme Court will guarantee the right to marry when it begins hearing oral arguments in four cases challenging same-sex marriage bans later this month.
"Hillary Clinton supports marriage equality and hopes the Supreme Court will come down on the side of same-sex couples being guaranteed that constitutional right," the statement said.
CNN was quick to point out that Clinton's track record on same-sex marriage hasn't been the absolute best. As a Presidential hopeful in 2008, she favored civil unions over same-sex marriage, and in 2014, told NPR host Terry Gross that marriage should be "a matter left to the states."
"I fully endorse the efforts by activists to work state-by-state," she said at the time:
After a handful of questions on the topic, Gross said she was just trying to "clarify" whether Clinton had changed her opinion on the matter or whether the political winds on the issue had shifted, allowing Democrats' 2016 presidential frontrunner to come out in favor of same-sex marriage.
Clinton pushed back on the question, telling Gross, "No, I don't think you are trying to clarify. I think you are trying to say that I used to be opposed and now I am in favor and I did it for political reason and that is just flat wrong."
Clinton strongly aligned herself with same-sex couples in the first official announcement of her Presidential bid. The video, which touted her as a "champion" for "everyday Americans," showed a variety of multicultural families as well as two same-sex couples, one gay and one lesbian.
Below, hear Clinton tell reporters why she wants to be President at her first campaign event in Iowa this week:
