New York Times: “It was 10 minutes before 1 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, 1996, and there
were no cameras, no ceremony. The witching-hour timing bespoke both
political calculation and personal angst. With his signature, federal
law now defined marriage as the union of a man and woman. Mr. Clinton
considered it a gay-baiting measure, but was unwilling to risk
re-election by vetoing it.”
“For nearly 17 years since, that middle-of-the-night moment has haunted Mr. Clinton, the source of tension with friends, advisers and gay rights supporters. He tried to explain, defend and justify. He asked for understanding. Then he inched away from it bit by bit. Finally this month, he disavowed the Defense of Marriage Act entirely, urging that the law be overturned by the Supreme Court, which takes up the matter on Wednesday on the second of two days of arguments devoted to same-sex marriage issues.”
“Rarely has a former president declared that an action he took in office violated the Constitution. But Mr. Clinton’s journey from signing the Defense of Marriage Act to repudiating it mirrors larger changes in society as same-sex marriage has gone from a fringe idea to one with a majority.”
