Hillary Defends Her Evolving on Gay Marriage but Not on Gay Rights

                                                                               

Hillary Clinton strongly defended her support for same-sex marriage in an NPR interview Thursday while slapping opposition in Texas and charging that those who fight gay marriage on religious grounds “operate in an evidence-free zone.”

Defensively brushing aside suggestions that she has evolved on the issue for political reasons, Clinton said that she is like many Americans who now support gay marriage.

“Maybe slowly, maybe tentatively, maybe not as quickly and extensively as many would have hoped but nevertheless, we are at a point now where equality, including marriage equality, in our country is solidly established although there will be places, Texas just to name one, where that is still going to be an ongoing struggle,” she told Terry Gross, host of WFPL’s "Fresh Air" show.

In addition to hitting Texas for not supporting gay marriage, she took a shot at those who “believe they have a direct line to the divine” in opposing it.

“One of my big problems right now is that too many people believe they have a direct line to the divine and they never want to change their mind about anything. They’re never open about new information and they like to operate in an evidence-free zone. I think it’s good if people continue to change,” said Clinton, currently on a tour to promote her $8 million Hard Choices.

After being repeatedly challenged, Clinton concluded: “I did not grow up even imagining gay marriage and I don’t think you did either. This was an incredible new and important idea that people on the front lines of the gay right movement began to talk about and slowly, but surely, convinced others about the rightness of that position. When I was ready to say what I said, I said it.”

by Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted atpbedard@washingtonexaminer.com.