Tulsi Gabbard issued an apology on Thursday for “hurtful” comments she’d made about the LGBTQ community and its members.
Democratic Representative and presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard issued an apology on Thursday for "hurtful" comments she'd made about the LGBTQ community and its members. She shared her recorded statement via Twitter: "In my past, I said and believed things that were wrong, and worse, hurtful to people in the LGBTQ+ community and their loved ones. I'm deeply sorry for having said and believed them." In the video, she asked to be judged for the work she's done to ensure LGBTQ rights. Gabbard also noted that her past comments were heavily influenced by her very-conservative activist father. She further said that her life experiences in the time since have made her aware that those views are in conflict with her values and overarching belief "in the fundamental rights and equality of all people." "Gabbard's past positions can be traced back to the early 2000s, when she first sought public office," according to CNN. Her comments from the time included: "This war of deception and hatred against my mom is being waged by homosexual activists because they know, that if elected, she will not allow them to force their values down the throats of the children in our schools," a statement she made in regard to opposition to her mother's efforts to join the state board of education. "As Democrats, we should be representing the views of the people, not a small number of homosexual extremists," Gabbard said in opposition to a civil unions bill in 2004.
