Wish Tulsi Gabbard was running for president

[virtualobserver]

38. This was when she was 22.....she was raised in an environment with that belief

In recent years, Tulsi has undergone what she describes as a “gradual metamorphosis” on social issues. She says her transformation was spurred by spending time in countries governed by oppressive regimes during deployments to the Middle East as a member of the Hawaii Army National Guard.

“Some of these experiences living and working in oppressive countries, not only witnessing firsthand but actually experiencing myself what happens when a government basically attempts to act as a moral arbiter,” Tulsi said. “It really caused me to take a look at myself and the way we’re doing things here at home, locally, and nationally.”

Today, she says she is pro-choice and would fight to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

Tulsi said that her departure from the “very conservative value set” with which she was raised has meant that recent conversations with her parents about social issues haven’t always been “easy.” But she also said she has discussed her views “in detail” with her mother and father, who couldn’t be reached for comment before publication of this article.

“While my parents and I have a very close relationship, and we love each other and respect each other very much, we don’t agree on everything,” she said. “They respect my position and they understand where I am coming from. Most of all, they support me.”