Hillary Clinton supports gay marriage

In a move that could have implications for a 2016 White House campaign, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton endorsed gay marriage on Monday, saying she supports it “personally, and as a matter of policy and law.”

“LGBT Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones,” Clinton says, speaking directly to the camera, in a nearly 6-minute video released by the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights group. “And they are full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage. … I support it personally, and as matter of policy and law.”


Clinton’s endorsement was expected after her husband, Bill, and daughter, Chelsea, endorsed same-sex marriage while Hillary Clinton was serving in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet. When she was campaigning for president in 2008, Clinton had opposed gay marriage and backed civil unions instead. Since then, support for gay marriage has become a cornerstone of the Democratic Party.

( Flashback: Burns & Haberman on Clinton's gay-marriage stance)

By releasing her announcement in a video, Clinton also avoided questions about the Defense of Marriage Act, which her husband had backed but said recently should be struck down. Hillary Clinton didn’t address DOMA in the video, even as the law is up for review by the Supreme Court.

“Like so many others, my personal views have been shaped over time by people I have known and loved, by my experience representing our nation on the world stage, my devotion to law and human rights and the guiding principles of my faith,” Clinton says. “Marriage, after all, is a fundamental building block of our society. A great joy, and yes, a great responsibility.”

“A few years ago, Bill and I celebrated as our own daughter married the love of her life,” Clinton continued. “I wish every parent that same joy. To deny the opportunity to our own daughters and sons solely on the basis of who they are and who they love is to deny them the chance to live up to their own God-given potential.”

Two potential opponents for Clinton in a 2016 Democratic presidential primary — Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — have ushered gay marriage laws through their legislatures. (Using careful language, Clinton had praised Cuomo’s victory in New York as “historic.”) A third, Vice President Joe Biden, jumped the gun and endorsed gay marriage last spring, pre-empting Obama.

In the video, Clinton takes care to speak to concerns from both gay marriage backers who may have wanted her to speak up while still serving in Foggy Bottom and from opponents of same-sex nuptials.

“I know that many in our country still struggle to reconcile the teachings of their religion, the pull of their conscience, the personal experiences they have in their families and communities,” Clinton said. “And people have good will and good faith will continue to view this issue differently. So I hope as we discuss and debate, whether it’s around a kitchen table or in the public square, we do so in a spirit of respect and understanding.”

Clinton starts the video by recounting a statement she made at 2011 conference in Geneva, Switzerland: “That gay rights are human rights.” She then ticks off a list of pro-gay rights steps she took as secretary, including confronting foreign leaders who opposed gay rights and changing State Department policy to “ensure that our LGBT families are treated more fairly.”

By releasing the video through the Human Rights Campaign, she also gave the group a chance to use her name to further develop its email and potential donor lists.

Clinton praises the speed at which marriage equality has spread. A Gallup poll released in early December found 53 percent of the country supports gay marriage.

“For those of us who lived through the long years of the civil rights and women’s rights movements, the speed with which more and more people have come to embrace the dignity and equality of LGBT Americans has been breathtaking, and inspiring,” she said. “We see it all around us, every day, in major cultural statements and in quiet family moments. But the journey is far from over, and therefore we must keep working to make our country freer and fairer.”

Maggie Haberman contributed to this report.