Vice President Joe Biden has endorsed same-sex marriage, becoming the highest
ranking American official to back marriage for gay and lesbian people. His
comments signify a split within the Obama administration and may pave the way
for President Obama — who says he supports civil unions and is still evolving on
the matter — to also embrace equality.
Biden made his remarks during an appearance on Meet the Press, telling host
David Gregory that he is “
absolutely
comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women.” He
added, however, that “the President sets the policy” and did not say if he would
support marriage in a second term. Biden credited the change-of-heart to the
show Will & Grace, which aired on NBC from 1998 to 2006 and featured
numerous gay characters:
GREGORY: Have your views evolved?
BIDEN: The good news is that as more and more Americans come to understand
what this is all about is a simple proposition. Who do you love? Who do
you love and will you be loyal to the person you love? And that’s what people
are finding out what all marriages at their root are about. Whether
they are marriages of lesbians or gay men or heterosexuals. [...]
GREGORY: You’re comfortable with same-sex marriage now?
BIDEN: Look, I am Vice President of the United States of America. The
president sets the policy. I am absolutely comfortable with the fact
that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual men marrying women
are entitled to the same exact rights. All the civil rights, all the civil
liberties. And quite frankly I don’t see much of a distinction beyond that.
[...] I think Will & Grace probably did more to educate the American public
than almost anything anybody has done so far. People fear that is different and
now they’re beginning to understand.
Watch it:
Biden has backed equal rights for the LGBT community throughout his career,
but this is the first time he has publicly acknowledged his support of full
marriage rights.
In December of 2010, Biden predicted, “I think the country’s evolving and I
think there’s
an
inevitability for a national consensus on gay marriage.”
But when asked if he supports gay marriage during the 2008 Vice Presidential
debate Biden was far more circumspect, saying, “
No. Barack Obama nor I
support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage. We do not
support that.” He even sought common ground with Sarah Palin on the issue and
noted that both believe that “there should be no civil rights distinction, none
whatsoever between a committed gay couple and a committed heterosexual couple.”
Since that performance, the administration has touted its accomplishments on
behalf of the LGBT community — from the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell to its
refusal to defend the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. Yet Biden’s support for
marriage could excite the LGBT community — many of whom have recently expressed
outrage over
Obama’s
unwillingness to issue an executive order prohibiting employment
discrimination in federal contracting — just ahead of the 2012 election.
Obama first told blogger Joe Sudbay that “attitudes
evolve
[on marriage equality] including mine” in October of 2010 and the administration
last commented on his position during a press gaggle on March 30, 2012. “I don’t
anticipate that the President would make news on [marriage equality],” Press
Deputy Josh Earnest told a reporter en route to Burlington, Vermont when asked
about Obama’s “evolving position.”
Gay and lesbian couples can wed in six states and the District of Columbia.
Washington and Maryland both passed same-sex marriage laws in 2012, but they are
currently being challenged by voter referenda.
