US Democratic presidential candidates attend gay political forum
Pastor Dale Morgan
US Democratic presidential candidates attend gay political forum*
08/10/2007 18:38 Source: AP ©
The leading Democratic presidential candidates faced pointed questions
on gay marriage and the basis for sexual orientation in TV forum.
Former Sen. John Edwards found himself discussing whether he is
comfortable around gay people - he said he is. New Mexico Gov. Bill
Richardson appeared to struggle with a question about why people become
gay or lesbian. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton ended up defending the
record of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, on gay rights.
"We certainly didn't get as much done as I would have liked," the New
York senator said. "But there was a lot of honest effort."
Six of the eight Democratic candidates answered questions Thursday on
gay rights at the two-hour forum co-sponsored by the Human Rights
Campaign, a gay-rights group active in Democratic politics, and Logo, a
gay-oriented cable TV channel that aired the forum live.
Organizers said it marked the first time that major presidential
candidates appeared on TV specifically to address gay issues. The
candidates appeared one at a time in an upholstered chair on a Hollywood
studio set and took questions from a panel that included singer Melissa
Etheridge.
The candidates underscored differences with Republicans on gay and
lesbian rights, but leading candidates also faced aggressive questioning
on their reluctance to embrace marriage for same-sex couples.
All of the Democratic candidates support a federal ban on anti-gay job
discrimination, want to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy
barring gays from serving openly in the military and support civil
unions that would extend marriage-like rights to same-sex couples.