WATCH: Hillary Clinton announces supports for the freedom to marry

March 18, 2013

This morning, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton added her voice to the growing and increasingly diversifying chorus of Americans who fervently support the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. She announced her support in a moving video from the Human Rights Campaign. Watch the full video HERE or below.  She said:

LGBT Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones - and they are full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage. That's why I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples. I support it personally and as a matter of policy and law, embedded in a broader effort to advance equality and opportunity for LGBT Americans and for all Americans.

Marriage, after all, is a fundamental building block for our society - a great joy and, yes, a great responsibility.

Clinton acknowledged the journeys that many Americans have taken with regard to their views on the freedom to marry, and she encouraged people to continue considering why marriage matters and sharing their reflections with their friends and family members. "I hope that as we continue to discuss and debate - whether it's around a kitchen table or in the public square, we do so in the spirit of respect and understanding," she said.

Clinton reflected on her own daughter's recent marriage to her husband and explained that she was proud her daughter had that opportunity. "I wish every parent that same joy," she said. "To deny the opportunity to any of our daughters and sons solely on the basis of who they are and who they love is to deny them the chance to live up to their own God-given potential."