In a conversation with David Gregory on NBC’s Meet the Press, Joe Biden threw his support behind marriage equality:
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.
This is good news, as the Democratic Establishment seems to be supporting true equality for LGBT people. However, President Barack Obama is still “evolving.”
Today, on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan followed in Biden’s footsteps and offered support to marriage equality. On the show, Mark Halperin inquired if Duncan supported same-sex marriage and he replied, “”Yes, I do.”
Biden’s statement has the Internet humming with commentary:
Biden told Gregory that he believes all marriages, “of lesbians or gay men or heterosexuals,” are, at their root, about love.
To claim that the man who said that is still “evolving on this issue,” as Biden’s office is trying to do, is — as with the first lady’s comments in March — only possible by taking an adventure into Wonderland. — Chris Geidner, Metro Weekly
While it’s easy to read between the lines and come to the conclusion that Biden is endorsing the freedom to marry – especially considering his past support for the LGBT community – it’s important to keep in mind exactly what the Vice President said and what we want to hear. The two are not necessarily aligned.
The Obama campaign has already started pointing out the nuance of what Biden said and the disconnect between what the media is reporting in a breathless frenzy.
David Axelrod has taken to Twitter to say, “What VP said – that all married couples should have exactly the same legal rights – is precisely POTUS’s position.”
A campaign spokesman gave Politico this 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 rollback those rights.” — Bill Browning, Bilerico
“Only in Washington and in politics could someone attempt to parse the words of what the vice president of the United States said on Meet the Press today. His words speak for themselves — and they send an incredibly important message outside Washington to the young LGBT teenager hearing the vice president of the United States talk about his belief in marriage equality and the fact that he or she can grow up and have the same dreams and aspirations as their friends, their colleagues, their parents. — Chad Griffin, Incoming Human Rights Campaign President
What are your thoughts on these developments?
