US Democratic presidential candidates address gay rights

US Democratic presidential contenders sought to underscore their differences with Republicans on gay and lesbian rights, but leading candidates also faced sharp questions on their reluctance to embrace marriage for same-sex couples.

In a Los Angeles forum focusing on gay issues sponsored by a gay-rights organisation and aired on a gay-oriented cable channel, Sen. Barack Obama argued that civil unions for same-sex couples wouldn’t be a “lesser thing” than marriage. He disputed that his position on same-sex marriage made him a vestige of the past rather than an agent of change.