by Rex Wockner
Hillary Clinton has questioned the widespread notion that Barack Obama talks about gay issues in front of non-gay crowds more than she does.
"I find it ironic, since Sen. Obama had his gospel tour with ['ex-gay' Donnie] McClurkin, that he and his supporters would take credit for that," Clinton told the Washington Blade Feb. 10.
"I talk about gay issues frequently," she said. "I've been a longtime friend of the gay community — I've been talking about these issues since 1999 when I first ran for Senate and went on record as the first major candidate to say we're going to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' I talk about ending discrimination all the time."
Obama came under fire in some gay circles for including McClurkin, a Christian minister and Grammy Award-winning gospel singer, in a South Carolina campaign tour last October.
McClurkin has called homosexuality "abnormal" and said he was "broken" until he abandoned his gayness to please God.
Clinton also told the Blade that, if elected, she will become the first U.S. president to march in a gay pride parade.
