5 Hillary Clinton Quotes That Sum Up Her Evolution on Gay Marriage

On Sunday, Hillary Clinton announced what we’ve all been waiting for—she is officially running for president in 2016. Like most politicians, her views on LGBTQ rights and same-sex marriage have evolved over the years. While she is light-years ahead of the current Republican contenders, her slow progress on accepting gay marriage may put her at a disadvantage to other potential candidates like Martin O’Malley, who was signing a gay marriage bill in 2012 when Clinton was just starting to come out in favor of these rights. Many have said that her transition has been an honest one (even Obama didn’t publicly declare his support until 2012), but others think she has simply been telling us what we want to hear in preparation for her presidential bid. Here are a few choice quotes that Clinton has made in speeches and interviews that have led up to her official support in 2013.

Is she LGBT friendly for the votes, or will she really work for us in the White House? Looks like we may get the opportunity to find out.

2000: "Marriage has got historic, religious and moral content that goes back to the beginning of time and I think a marriage is as a marriage has always been, between a man and a woman."

2003: "You know, marriage has a meaning that ... I think should be kept as it historically has been, but I see no reason whatsoever why people in committed relationships can't have ... many of the same rights and the same ... respect for their unions that they are seeking. And I would like to see that be more accepted than it is. ... I also think that we can realize the same results for many committed couples by urging that states and localities adopt civil union and domestic partnership laws."

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2007:  "I prefer to think of it as being very positive about civil unions… It's a personal position ... we have made it clear in our country that we believe in equality. How we get to full equality is the debate we're having, and I am absolutely in favor of civil unions with full equality ... of benefits, rights, and privileges."

2011: “Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.

2013: "LGBT Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends and our loved ones, 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.”

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