Bill Clinton: It’s Time for Gay Marriage

The president who signed the Defense of Marriage Act is now campaigning to legalize gay marriage in New York. Bill Clinton released a statement through Human Rights Campaign today backing the bill currently being considered in his home state, Politico reports. “Our nation’s permanent mission is to form a ‘more perfect union’—deepening the meaning of freedom,” Clinton said. “Now we should do it again, in New York, with marriage equality.”

Clinton first flipped on gay marriage in 2009. “I changed my position,” he said. “I am no longer opposed to that. I think if people want to make commitments that last a lifetime, they ought to be able to do it.” Hillary Clinton announced a similar shift earlier this year. (More Bill Clinton stories.)