Hillary Clinton on Monday joined her
husband, former President Bill Clinton, and daughter, Chelsea
Clinton, in endorsing gay marriage.
In a 6-minute video for the Human
Rights Campaign's (HRC) Americans for Marriage Equality campaign,
Clinton said that allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry will help
bring us to “that more perfect union promised to us all.”
“LGBT Americans are our colleagues,
our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones,” Clinton
said. “And they are full and equal citizens and deserve the rights
of citizenship. That includes marriage.”
“That's why I support marriage for
lesbian and gay couples. I support it personally and as a matter of
policy and law. Embedded in a broader effort to advance equality and
opportunity for LGBT Americans and all Americans.”
Clinton said her stance had been shaped
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.” (The video is embedded on
this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Clinton, who has strongly spoken out in
favor of LGBT rights and cheered
passage of marriage equality in New York, last weighed in on the
issue in a 2011 profile for gay glossy The Advocate.
When asked if she agrees with her
husband on the issue, Clinton
responded: “Well, I share his experience because we obviously
share a lot of the same friends, but I have not changed my position.”