On Sunday’s edition of Meet the Press, Vice President Joe Biden surprised the press he was meeting, as well as many viewers at home, when he explicitly expressed support for same-sex marriage. According to The New York Times, Biden said he was “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex marriage, explaining:
“I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual men and women marrying one another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties…That’s what people are finding out is what, what all marriages, at their root, are about,” he said, “Whether they’re marriages of lesbians or gay men or heterosexuals.”
The Times cites that Biden, with his “unexpectedly expansive remarks,” now represents “by far the highest-ranking White House official to move closer to a formal embrace of same-sex marriage.” Biden talked about meeting gay families on the campaign trail and wishing Americans could see that this fight is about love.
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Predictably enough, Biden’s aides “scrambled” in response to these “off the cuff remarks” to make sure everybody knew that Biden’s opinion was not deviating from White House policy and also that “Mr. Biden did not say explicitly that the federal government should recognize it.” They didn’t necessarily need to bother with that, though — Biden had specifically said on-air that “I am vice president of the United States of America. The president sets the policy.” His aides made the following statement:
“The vice president was saying what the president has said previously – that committed and loving same-sex couples deserve the same rights and protections enjoyed by all Americans, and that we oppose any effort to roll back those rights. That’s why we stopped defending the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act in legal challenges and support legislation to repeal it. Beyond that, the vice president was expressing that he too is evolving on the issue, after meeting so many committed couples and families in this country.”
David Axlerod tweeted: “What VP said – that all married couples should have exactly the same legal rights – is precisely POTUS’s position.”
“Gay rights leaders” were unimpressed by Team Biden’s scramble, expressing “frustration and dismay over attempts by the White House to play down the vice president’s words.”
But more exceptional still, Joe Biden actually name-dropped Will & Grace — yes, the sitcom — as something that “probably did more to educate the American public than almost anything anybody’s ever done so far.”
Some suspect Joe Biden’s remarks were pre-meditated and part of an overall strategy to engage gay donors, who have “replaced Wall Street money” in this election. Biden has always stated same-sex marriage was “inevitable,” but this explicit expression of support stands out and is part of a larger pattern of satillites to the president presently publicly supporting same-sex marriage rights — Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan. Meanwhile, Team Romney can’t keep one gay guy on their staff. What a weird election this is gonna be.
I love you Joe Biden.
I also love you, Riese, for posting that gif.
ALL THE CIVIL RIGHTS! ALL THE CIVIL LIBERTIES!
ALL THE EVERYTHING AND THE EVERYTHING FOR ALL!!!
*glitter kisses and kitten hugs*
Joe Biden wins all the things!!
Thanks, Riese, I was waiting for the Autostraddle scoop with the follow-up research. Too bad they’re hiding from it, I wish they’d just let Biden’s blunt liberal stoner side loose. He tends to say the things I wish Obama would.
I couldn’t agree more!
I think once the election is over (presuming Obama/Biden win a second term) they will both “let loose” more when it comes to certain polarizing issues. Right now Obama is playing the election game, so his whole camp is being careful. (I feel like Obama probably fully supports same sex marriage too, he just can’t say that right now.)
I agree. Although I wish I could say that it is advisable for Obama to come out and support gay marriage right now, he needs to play the game. And yeah, that sucks for us and it’s hard to accept, but the truth is that a lot of people would have problems with that. And if those people switch over, there is a real possibility that the Republican party will take over and come after us hard. I think it was wise to have Biden say something instead of Obama so that the LGBT community understands that the Obama administration is on our side. But for now I think Obama should keep cruising on and playing the campaign game, and really dive into action upon re-election.
welp. im eating my words. glad it happened tho…
I want to hug Biden after watching that video. I totally agree that the President is playing it cool for the health of his campaign.
lol, ‘blunt stoner’
Joe Biden’s name always reminds me of Joe Budden, which then brings me to this classic gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySfwW_xSRU4&ob=av2e
That + this article just put me in the best mood.
Four for you Ashley!
*dances*
Yay, Biden! And oh my god, that gif.
Can we invite Joe Biden to the next A-Camp?
Yes please.
We’re finally getting there guys :)
Joe Biden finishes “evolving”. President Obama continues to hit ‘B’ button.
Too much Pokemon.
There’s never too much Pokemon.
Congratulations! Your PRESIDENT has evolved and learned HELPING HAND!
This totally brightened my day. Especially THAT GIF. Beautiful.
I’m going to name my next cat Joe Biden. Even if it’s a girl.
Seems like the White House is testing the waters… Maybe Obama will finish evolving soon, after the election most likely….
Chris Hayes covered this well on Maddow, but Axelrod’s tweet pisses me off so much. Biden didn’t say he was for equal rights for married people, he fucking said he was gay marriage. It’s not the same thing and it’s disingenuous of Axelrod to say it is.
Anyway, I don’t think it was premeditated on Biden’s part, Joe was just being Joe and I love him for it.
This gave me all the feelings! Thank you, Riese. This is a rather hopeful and refreshing thing to hear.