Bill Clinton: Gay Marriage Foes Act 'For Their Own Identity, Not Out of Respect for Anyone Else'

April 21st, 2013 12:55 PM

Former President Bill Clinton made a comment Saturday evening guaranteed to raise some eyebrows.

During his acceptance speech for the Advocate for Change Award at the 24th annual Los Angeles dinner of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Clinton said, “People who oppose equal rights for gays in the marriage sphere are basically acting out of concerns for their own identity not out of respect for anyone else."

BILL CLINTON: There’s one other person I’d like to thank for this award who I didn’t know was even in town until late this afternoon. That’s my daughter Chelsea. She had a profound impact in many ways on the way I see the world. It's sort of humbling when you get to be my age and your child knows more than you do about everything.

But Chelsea and her gay friends and her wonderful husband have modeled to me the way we all ought to treat each other without regard to our sexual orientation or any other artificial difference that divides us. Many of them come and join us every Thanksgiving for a meal. I have grown quite attached to them. And over the years, I was forced to confront the fact that people who oppose equal rights for gays in the marriage sphere are basically acting out of concerns for their own identity not out of respect for anyone else."