Joe Biden Calls Gay Marriage 'The Issue Of Our Day'

[Tx4obama]

Joe Biden Calls Gay Marriage 'The Issue Of Our Day'

Vice President Joe Biden retreaded his support for gay marriage in a speech at Sen. Tom Harkin's (D-Iowa) annual steak-fry fundraiser on Sunday.

In a speech hitting economic opportunity and celebrating President Barack Obama's leadership, Biden merited his own defense of gay rights.

“A lot of people criticized me for speaking out, not long ago, about gay marriage. I could not remain silent any longer,” he said. “It’s the civil rights of our day. It’s the issue of our day.”

-snip-

Full article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/15/biden-gay-marriage_n_3932129.html

[Skittles]

1. I was speaking out 40 years ago

but better late than never!!!

[Vanje]

3. +1

I just wish you had had access to that big Veep podium, and that press crew listening to your every word.

[Vanje]

2. Biden's unambiguous statement in favor of gay marriage was a tipping point.

I give him huge props for that.

[Behind the Aegis]

10. YUP!

( you!)

[pscot]

4. bigger than climate change

or the rise of the Oligarchy. Bigger than world hunger or the carbon death of the biota. Nice.

[Skittles]

6. it is a human rights issue

that is always a big issue

[Sanddog42]

8. those are all important issues, and there are many more

but are any of the ones you listed civil rights issues?

[Daniel537]

16. I would say income inequality is a civil/human rights issue.

Especially with the appalling wealth gap we have today. Its a recipe for social disaster.

[Sanddog42]

19. Appalling Recipe

I agree that it is appalling and a recipe for disaster, but I'm not sure that qualifies it as a civil rights issue.

But I'm open to being convinced. You should start a new thread to discuss it so we don't derail this one.

[Behind the Aegis]

11. Oh those are all civil rights issues?!

Thank you! Thank you for telling us how unimportant our equality is!

[Sand Wind]

5. Kick.

[gopiscrap]

7. Good for Biden perhaps we can also talk about

getting rid of the patriot act, drones and other civil rights abuses in our nation?

[Hekate]

9. Love me some Joe Biden. As for some of you out there: Way to miss the point. nt

[Behind the Aegis]

12. They didn't "miss the point," they ignored it!

[Hekate]

13. They sure did. Oy.

[Warren DeMontague]

14. Good for Joe.

I've disagreed with the guy on some things, but he's spot-on here. And I do believe he was instrumental in bringing the President to take an open principled stand on the matter.

[dickthegrouch]

15. Why didn't he do that in 2008 and save us all a lot of heartache?

In the Vice Presidential Candidate debate, Joe Biden made a very ambiguous statement in response to the question “Do you support gay marriage?”

BIDEN: “No. Barack Obama nor I support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage. We do not support that. That is basically the decision to be able to be able to be left to faiths and people who practice their faiths the determination what you call it. The bottom line though is, and I'm glad to hear the governor, I take her at her word, obviously, that she think there should be no civil rights distinction, none whatsoever, between a committed gay couple and a committed heterosexual couple”.


My suggestion to the No on 8 campaign was to take (the highlighted part of) Biden’s reply (slightly out of context) and use it as a part of the No on 8 advertising. They ignored me.

However, the fact is, that at the time Biden made the statement, marriage had already been redefined in California since same-sex marriage had already been approved by the court. There was definitely a case for using some subterfuge and misdirection to say that the Presidential and VP candidates did not support redefining marriage to be between a man and a woman as the initiative sought to achieve.

Transcript source: http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/debates/transcripts/vice-presidential-debate.html

[cali]

17. I don't see it as a bigger civil rights issue than racisim

which is clearly still an enormous problem.

[Sanddog42]

18. He did say it was a bigger or more important issue

He said it's the issue of our day. It's an idea whose time has come.