The View's reigning conservative
Elisabeth Hasselbeck has endorsed Laura Bush's recent revelation that
she disagreed with her husband on gay marriage.
In discussing Bush's split with her
husband, former President George W. Bush, on the issue, Hasselbeck
told fellow View co-hosts that instead of “just talking
about it and hating on it” conservatives should “actually talk to
someone who's loved [a member of the same sex] and have the
conversation about what can be done.”
Speaking on Larry King Live, Bush said
she believes that people's fear of gay marriage comes from their
inexperience with the issue.
“I think there are a lot of, maybe,
conservatives out there who are talking about gay marriage and not
necessarily with someone who wants to have gay marriage or has been
in a gay marriage,” Hasselbeck said on the program Thursday.
“I had [openly lesbian singer]
Melissa Etheridge over, we had dinner, we talked for hours about gay
marriage, and I would really challenge people: Get out there.”
In 2008, the 32-year-old co-star held a
different view on gay marriage. During a heated discussion on the
passing of California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8, Hasselbeck
said she was “happy” that voters had said no to judges that
legislate from the bench and agreed with co-star Sherri Shepherd who
said she believed marriage should be reserved for heterosexual
couples.