Democratic Candidates in Historic Gay Event

LOS ANGELES, CA -- In a historic event Thursday, most of the Democratic presidential contenders appeared on Logo cable channel to talk about their stand on gay issues such as gay marriage and the fight against discrimination.

The milestone event was held in a Hollywood studio with an invited audience of 200 and was sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign and by Logo. It marked the first time that major presidential candidates appeared on TV specifically to address gay issues, the Associated Press reports.

The candidates were asked questions from a panel that included Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese, singer Melissa Etheridge and Washington Post editorial writer Jonathan Capehart.

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was cheered by the crowd when she alluded to the prospect for change at the White House in the 2008 election.

Solomonese asked Senator Clinton what's at the heart of her opposition to same-sex marriage. "I'd like to think of it as my positive stance on civil unions," Clinton said.

"How we get to full equality is the debate here, and I'm in favor of civil unions with full equality and benefits. We're now beginning to see States take control now, and stopping the Federal Marriage Amendment gave the states room to make up their own minds."

Clinton said she respects the advocacy and work the community is doing on behalf of gay marriage. She said: "This has not been a long-term struggle yet. People in the states are dealing more rapidly to deal with inequality than federal branch can."

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards argued that Democrats must speak out against discrimination coming from the other party.

Sen. Barack Obama argued that civil unions for same-sex couples wouldn't be a "lesser thing" than marriage. He disputed that his position on same-sex marriage made him a vestige of the past rather than an agent of change.

"Semantics may be important to some. From my perspective, what I'm interested (in) is making sure that those legal rights are available to people," he said.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said the nation was on "a path to full inclusion" but added, "In my judgment, what is achievable is civil unions with full marriage rights."

Of the eight Democratic candidates, two did not attend, Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware and Chris Dodd on Connecticut.