Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she, like most Americans, evolved on the issue of gay marriage.
"I think evolved is the word that a lot of people have used," she said at a CNN town hall on Tuesday. "It fits me as well as it fits others. In large measure based on the experiences that I had with so many people who I knew and cared about.
"And it really became very clear to me that if we're going to support marriage in our country, it should be available to everyone regardless of who they love and that this marriage equality issue is a great human rights issue," she added. "So yes, I evolved over time and I'm very, very proud to state that I'm a full supporter of marriage equality right now."
The former secretary of state, who is weighing a run for president in 2016, raised some eyebrows during a recent interview with NPR's Terry Gross after she got testy over the word "evolved" and at what point she came to support gay marriage.
"You know, I really — I have to say, I think you are being very persistent, but you are playing with my words," Clinton said in that interview. "And playing with what is such an important issue."
"I’m just trying to clarify so I can understand," Gross responded.
"No, I don’t think you are trying to clarify. I think you are trying to say that I used to be opposed [to gay marriage], and now I am in favor, and I did it for political reasons. And that’s just flat wrong. So let me just state what I feel like you are implying and repudiate it. I have a strong record. I have a great commitment to this issue and I am proud of what I’ve done and the progress we're making," Clinton said.
Clinton took questions from CNN's Christiane Amanpour and her audience on Tuesday as part of a tour to promote her new memoir, Hard Choices.
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