Elisabeth Hasselbeck, cohost of ABC’s The View, speaks out in favor of gay marriage and against what she feels are the misconceptions people have of her based on her personality. Besides being the youngest member of The View‘s panel, an interview with Fancast shows Hasselbeck’s support of gay marriage, and also a woman’s right to choose.
Fancast’s Adam Buckman asked Hasselbeck:
What are some common misperceptions about you?
Her response may surprise you.
I am not ultra-ultra-conservative on every issue. I actually support gay marriage.
She went on to say that this opinion, and others, may surprise some people.
I think the gay marriage thing would definitely surprise people. I mean, for some people, it will surprise them to the point that they won’t want to hear it.
Her next point is her view on abortion, and the rights of women versus the rights of government. Sharron Angle, watch out, Hasselbeck is NOT your friend.
I am a person that does believe that life begins at conception, but I also don’t believe that the government should tell women what to do with their bodies. So I’m torn there in terms of supporting laws [for or against abortion]. I always say I would rather change a heart than a law. I think it has to start there. Always trying to mandate, mandate, mandate this or that is not the way that I believe this country should run.
Newsbusters.org also shares a little information about Hasselbeck and her seemingly transformed views on the issue of  gay marriage. In the article they quote an episode of The View where Hasselbeck joins forces with the former first lady Laura Bush and takes a stand against the former president’s view on gay marriage and abortion rights.
I think there are a lot of, maybe, conservatives out there who are talking about gay marriage and not necessarily with someone who wants to have gay marriage or has been in a gay marriage. You know, I had Melissa Etheridge over, we had dinner, we talked for hours about gay marriage, and I would really challenge people: Get out there. Instead of just talking about it and hating on it, actually talk to someone who’s loved someone else and have the conversation about what can be done…
Here she suggests that instead of fighting against something you don’t understand, find someone who is in a same-sex relationship and talk with them. *Gasp*
It is important, for us liberals or gay people as well, to go and talk…the key is talk, not yell, not fight, talk to someone with opposing views. If it turns ugly, walk away, but at least you tried to understand something about somebody else.
(image: ABC)