US:The Democratic presidential contenders have in recent weeks taken questions from the public via videos sent to the YouTube website, from bloggers and from trade unionists. Now, in a first for a US presidential campaign, they have fielded queries from a forum devoted to gay rights.
The televised meeting, held in Los Angeles, produced awkward moments for the two leading candidates, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and total embarrassment for one of the outsiders, Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico.
Asked whether homosexuality was a choice or biological, Richardson gave a confused reply that seemed to indicate it was a matter of choice. "I don't see this as an issue of science or definition. I see gays and lesbians as human beings," he said.
Later, he issued a statement of clarification: "I do not believe that sexual orientation or gender identity happen by choice. But I'm not a scientist, and the point I was trying to make is that no matter how it happens, we are all equal and should be treated that way under the law."
Obama, like most of the candidates, had his liberal credentials challenged over gay marriage. Although he belongs to the United Church of Christ, which supports gay marriage, he is not yet prepared to go beyond support for civil unions.
That is the position of most candidates, including Clinton and Richardson. Obama suggested gay marriage was a step too far now. "If we have a situation in which civil unions are fully enforced, are widely recognised, people have civil rights under the law, then my sense is that's enormous progress," he said.
While all the Democratic candidates have much more liberal positions on gay rights than their Republican counterparts, they are careful not to go too far for fear of alienating conservative voters in next year's election.
US polls consistently show a majority opposed to gay marriage. However the gay community is important to the Democrats for donations and providing campaign-helpers.
In the last election, 4 per cent of the electorate said they were gay, lesbian or bisexual, with 77 per cent voting for John Kerry and only 23 per cent for George Bush.
The two-hour forum, held in a Hollywood studio on Thursday night, was organised by a gay rights group, the Human Rights Campaign, and Logo, a gay-oriented channel. Each of the six candidates was questioned for 20 minutes.
Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich support same-sex marriage but neither has any chance of becoming the Democratic nominee. Two of the eight candidates, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, did not take part.
Obama described the meeting as "a historic moment . . . for America".
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said: "Tonight was an important night in the fight for equality. Unfortunately, we have more work to do. The overwhelming majority of the candidates do not support marriage equality."
All the Democratic candidates support ending the "don't ask, don't tell" policy - an unwieldy compromise introduced by Bill Clinton that bars gay people from serving openly in the military. Hillary Clinton said she would allow gay members of the military to serve openly.
John Edwards, another frontrunner, insisted he was comfortable around gay people, contrary to a claim made by a political consultant. -