Presidents

Does Bill Clinton Suddenly Want to Be Buddy-Buddy With the Gays?

bushclintontoronto

Plenty of furor over discriminatory laws now in place gets aimed at President Bill Clinton — and rightly so, since he helped enact some of them. The Defense of Marriage Act. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. They received his signature to become the rule of the land. Now eight years and a going into a third presidential term out of the White House, where does Clinton stand on these “controversial” issues?

When it comes to same-sex marriage, Clinton says his viewpoint is “evolving” and that as he meets more gay people, he’s increasingly led to believe their relationships “should be up to them.”

That’s what he told an audience in Toronto, where he shared a stage with his successor George W. Bush. And as for Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the “compromise” Clinton agreed to in order to let gays serve in the military (just not openly)? “I think that time will lead to a repeal of this ban.”

In case you were wondering whether Bush’s beliefs have also, ahem, evolved, the answer is, flatly, no: “I happen to believe marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman, and therefore defended it and still believe that.” But: “There’s ways to establish rights while at the same time defending marriage.”

And as for gays in the military? Bush: “President Clinton handled it the right way.”

Looks like Chelsea has made more in-roads on the parental units than Barbara and Jenna.

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