Hillary Clinton defends position on gay rights amid grilling

The Democratic presidential hopeful said she ‘absolutely adamant about protecting marriage equality.’

Hillary Clinton was forced to defend her previous views on same-sex marriage after she was quizzed by an audience member during a live debate.

Joe Sacco – a Las Vegas real estate agent and Bernie Sanders supporter – told the former Secretary of State that he had been a big supporter of both Clinton and her husband – former President Bill – ten years ago.

However, Sacco said he lost faith in the pair when they refused to support marriage equality.

“Secretary Clinton, I do respect you very much. In fact, only a decade ago I was a very, very big supporter of yourself and your husband,” he began.

“It actually broke my heart when you said marriage was between a man and a woman. How can we trust that this isn’t just more political rhetoric?”

Clinton admitted, once again, that she had “evolved” on the issue – and was “glad” to have done so.

“I am a 100 percent supporter and I am absolutely adamant about protecting marriage equality,” she said.

And I think it’s significant that the Human Rights Campaign, the leading organization in our country to ensure that the LGBT community has the rights they deserve, have endorsed me.”

Last month, The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) board of 32 LGBT rights leaders voted unanimously in favour of Hillary Clinton for President – noting her raft of LGBT policy pledges.

HRC opted to favour Clinton’s plan – which includes 24 sweeping pledges across LGBT policy areas – over Sanders, who has outlined just seven specific LGBT policies.

Sanders quickly rebuked the decision, suggesting the endorsement “cannot possibly be based on the facts” because he has been a lifelong supporter of LGBT rights – and accused HRC of being an “establishment organisation voting for the establishment candidate”.

However, earlier this week, it was revealed the majority of LGBT voters also want Clinton as the next president

Although 31% said they thought Sanders would be more supportive of LGBT rights – Clinton came in at 25%, with 37% indicating that the two candidates are equally supportive – more LGBT voters said they think the former Secretary of State would make a better leader overall.

• Dec 31 2024

Every celebrity who came out as LGBTQ+ in 2024