Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Clinton vows federal defense of gay rights

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said that as president she would defend gay rights and eliminate disparities for same-sex couples in federal law, including immigration and tax policy.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said that as president she would defend gay rights and eliminate disparities for same-sex couples in federal law, including immigration and tax policy.

Her comments came in an interview with the Philadelphia Gay News that was posted on its Web site yesterday.

Clinton said states such as New Jersey and Massachusetts were extending rights to same-sex couples, "and the federal government should recognize that and should extend the same access to federal benefits across the board. I will very much work to achieve that."

She said she opposed a measure that would ban same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania. "I would be very distressed if Pennsylvania were to adopt that kind of mean-spirited referendum," she said.

Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain declined the Philadelphia Gay News' invitation for an interview. The paper criticized Obama and highlighted his refusal to talk by leaving a blank space on the front page where his interview would have appeared.

Clinton also said she would eliminate her husband's policy of "don't ask, don't tell," which prevents gays from serving openly in the military.

She said she would support federal domestic-partner legislation to extend rights to same-sex couples, and support services for gay youth, including guidance for schools about the discrimination they face. - AP

Carter indicates he's with Obama

WASHINGTON - Former President Jimmy Carter left little doubt this week about whom he would like to see in the White House next year.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday on a trip to Nigeria, the Democratic former president noted that Barack Obama had won Carter's home state of Georgia and hometown of Plains.

"My children and their spouses are pro-Obama. My grandchildren are also pro-Obama," he said at a news conference, according to the Nigerian newspaper This Day. "As a superdelegate, I would not disclose who I am rooting for, but I leave you to make that guess."

Carter's spokeswoman confirmed the comments. - AP

Clinton and Obama to debate in N.C.

RALEIGH, N.C. - Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have both signed off on a Democratic debate in North Carolina. The question now is when.

Obama had previously agreed to debate his rival April 19 in North Carolina. Yesterday, the Clinton campaign said she had agreed to a CBS-sponsored debate April 27. North Carolina's primary is May 6.

Obama spokesman Dan Leistikow said, "We haven't made a decision whether the later date fits into our schedule."

The contenders most recently debated in Ohio on Feb. 26, and will debate in Philadelphia on April 16, days before Pennsylvania's April 22 primary. - AP

Corzine: Clinton needs a big Pa. win

New Jersey's Gov. Corzine, who backs Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid, said the race for the Democratic nomination may be over if she fails to win big in Pennsylvania's primary.

"I think she needs a good, big win," Corzine said yesterday on CNBC, describing himself as an "aggressive supporter" of the New York senator. "You have to see a real cut into this popular vote, and I think she's going to get it."

Obama leads Clinton by roughly 700,000 popular votes in primaries and caucuses held so far, not including those from Florida and Michigan, which the party stripped of their delegates for moving up their contests to early this year.

Corzine, one of the 794 superdelegates who will have a say in the nomination, also said the Democrats should pay for new primaries in Florida and Michigan.

"I think it's crazy for Democrats to walk away from two of the biggest states, tell them that we're uninterested in their point of view," he said.

- Bloomberg News