Former Vice President and Nobel laureate Al Gore was shown making a speech in support of gay marriage. A week-old video of him openly announcing his endorsement was posted on his website Current TV. The video was titled, "Gay men and women should have the same rights."
"I think that gay men and women ought to have the same rights as heterosexual men and women, to make contracts, to have hospital visiting rights and to join together in marriage," Gore announced. "And I don't understand why it is considered by some people to be a threat to heterosexual marriage to allow it by gays and lesbians."
"Shouldn't we be promoting that kind of faithfulness and loyalty to one's partner regardless of sexual orientation?"
The statement was seen as a turning point, mostly with regard to Gore's personal statements made during his candidacy in 2000 where he said that although he supported domestic partnership laws for same-sex couples, he was against "changing the institution of marriage as it is presently understood - between a man and a woman."
Gore's video was described as something that "pushes the Democratic establishment that much closer to a position [Gore] now shares with [New York Gov.] Eliot Spitzer and some other leading Democrats," according to Politico's Ben Smith, who added that the video was causing "grumbling in gay political circles that this batch of candidates aren't quite here."
Smith further noted Gore's direct attack on an issue that was being "tiptoed up to" by the current Democratic presidential candidates, Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL), and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards.
All three candidates have announced their support for gay marriage.
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