DALLAS (AP) – Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton this week pledged, if elected, to “work tirelessly to see that federal benefits are extended to same-sex couples that meet certain standards of commitment, regardless of the state in which they reside.”

Clinton, speaking during a conference call Wednesday, Feb. 27, with reporters from Dallas Voice and two other GLBT newspapers in Ohio, also took the opportunity to recount her past support for GLBT rights.

Sen. Barack Obama, the other Democratic contender for the White House, did not respond to repeated requests for an interview with Dallas Voice.

Clinton pointed out that she has been a “proud” sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the Matthew Shephard Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Hate Crimes Prevention Act and the Domestic Partnerships Benefits and Obligations Act, and that she authored the Early Treatment for HIV Act and fought to “fully fund” the Ryan White CARE Act.

“We have so much work to do, and when I am president, I will work with you to make sure that Americans in committed relationships have equal benefits, and that nothing stands in the way of those who want to adopt children in need,” Clinton said. “We’re going to expand federal hate crimes legislation and pass ENDA, and make sure that both are fully inclusive of all people. And finally, we will put an end to the failed policy of ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell.’”

She also said she believes that the country’s attitude toward the GLBT community is changing.

”I have traveled our country now for more than a year, and what I have sensed in my heart has been confirmed,” she said. “America is embracing its GLBT sons and daughters with an acceptance and understanding as never before. ...

“For seven long years, the Bush administration has tried to divide us. They have only seen the people who matter to them … And no community has been more invisible to this administration than the GLBT community, I will change that,” Clinton said. “The best evidence of what I will do as president is what I have already done.”

Clinton acknowledged that civil union laws like the one enacted last year in New Jersey are flawed, and that they fall short of offering rights and benefits equal to those that come with marriage.

But the senator from New York insisted that “civil unions, if implemented well ... are the best way to achieve that.”

When the New Jersey Legislature passed the law creating legal civil unions, they included a provision creating a commission to review the law’s effectiveness in extending benefits to same-sex couples equal to those offered through marriage.

That commission released its first report last week, declaring that civil unions do not work and do, in fact, create a kind of “second-class status” for same-sex couples.

Clinton said Wednesday that from what she understands about the report, “the biggest problem ... is with federal benefits, which states really can’t do much about. And that’s why I want to change the law to extend federal benefits.”

The first step toward that goal, she said, would be for Congress to pass the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act. The bill, which Clinton has co-sponsored in the Senate, would extend the same benefits, including health insurance, to the domestic partners of federal employees.

“As some of you may know,” Clinton said, “after [the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001], I lobbied very hard to get the administration to extend federal benefits under the Victims Compensation Fund to the partners of those who had perished. That was the first time we were ever able to do that, and guess what – the sky didn’t fall.

“I have been pushing that very hard, to extend all federal benefits, and I intend to make that a high priority,” she said.

Clinton has come under fire from GLBT activists for supporting repeal of only part of the Defense of Marriage Act, a measure signed into law by her husband, then-President Bill Clinton, in 1996, that allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions enacted in another state, and which prohibits the federal government from recognizing or extending benefits to same-sex couples. The senator has said she supports repeal of the second portion of the bill, but not the first part.

“My position really does reflect my experience in fighting the [federal marriage amendment banning same-sex marriage],” Clinton said, adding that the section of DOMA that enables states to make their own decisions on marriage helped defeat that amendment.

“I was able to use section one of DOMA to explain to senators that, as had been the tradition in America, that marriage would be up to the states. That was critical in defeating the amendment.”

But, Clinton added, “the heart of what we’re trying to achieve” could be accomplished by repealing the part of DOMA that prevents federal recognition of same-sex couples.

“I think my strategy in actually moving us to equal access to benefits and the rights being generally available is the one most likely to work,” she said. “I will say, as I have said many times, that marriage is left to the states. States get to determine the laws. I think that is ... a historic and sensible approach for us to take. There does need to be a concerted and renewed effort to make sure that when states recognize the legality of same-sex marriage, that all benefits be extended. I believe that can be achieved.”