The Evolution of Bill Clinton on Gay Marriage

by Michael Jones · 2009-05-30 06:47:00 UTC
Topics:

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton signed into law the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the creme de la creme of anti-LGBT laws that exists on a federal level.   DOMA prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages conducted in states where they might be (or become) legal.

That was in 1996.  In 2009?  Well, now Clinton is saying that he's evolving on gay issues.  For real.

Last night at a public forum where Bill Clinton and George W. Bush (yup, #42 and #43) spoke in Canada, Clinton said that his position on gay marriage might be changing.  According to ABC News:

And while President Clinton mostly kept to his promise to “thwart” efforts to get 42 and 43 to tangle with each other, he offered an interesting insight into his thinking on gay rights.

On the issue of gay marriage -- which Clinton, like President Obama, personally opposes -- Clinton said of his position: "Frankly, it's evolving" as he sees more committed gay couples raising kids....

Clinton also expressed optimism that the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell policy” -- which he helped enact -- will eventually come off the books, allowing gay members of the armed services to serve openly.

"I think that time will lead to a repeal of this ban,” Clinton said.

I'm excited to hear thing.  Excited, and a little irritated, given that President Bill Clinton is the reason we have DOMA and the reason we have "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."  But hey, if the man behind these two abysmal pieces of legislation is ready for them to change, then maybe we're not too far off from seeing them put into the history books.

For more on the George W. Bush/Bill Clinton forum last night, click here.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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