Arguing that the nation is not ready for same-sex marriage, the frontrunners for the Democratic presidential nomination sought to convince an audience of gay and lesbian voters in Los Angeles Thursday that civil unions were not a consolation prize.

Although they reiterated their support for a repeal of the military's ban on openly gay servicemen, as well as their backing of a federal ban on anti-gay job discrimination, few appeared ready to stray from their carefully crafted statements on gay marriage.

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