Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, has apologized for her previous work with an anti-same-sex-marriage group that promoted conversion therapy, after being scrutinized for her record on joining the 2020 presidential field.
“First, let me say I regret the positions I took in the past, and the things I said,” Gabbard told CNN in response to the outlet’s report on her past involvement with the group. “I’m grateful for those in the LGBTQ+ community who have shared their aloha with me throughout my personal journey.”
Gabbard announced Friday that she would be seeking the Democratic nomination to run for president in 2020.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Gabbard worked for her father’s organization, the Alliance for Traditional Marriage, which is a political action committee that seeks to protect traditional marriage by opposing lawmakers who support gay marriage.
“Working with my father, Mike Gabbard, and others to pass a constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage, I learned that real leaders are willing to make personal sacrifices for the common good,” Gabbard told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in 2002 when she was running for state legislature, CNN reported. “I will bring that attitude of public service to the legislature.”
Gabbard’s father, a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate, also previously served as the director of Stop Promoting Homosexuality, and, at one point, hosted a radio show promoting the same ideals called “Let’s Talk Straight Hawaii.”
The young congresswoman’s stances, however, have shifted dramatically since the early 2000s.
“Over the past six years in Congress, I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to help work toward passing legislation that ensures equal rights and protections on LGBTQ+ issues, such as the Equality Act, the repeal of DOMA, Restore Honor to Service members Act, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Equality for All Resolution,” Gabbard told CNN. “Much work remains to ensure equality and civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ Americans and if elected President, I will continue to fight for equal rights for all.”
