Why I Believe Joe Biden Should Be the Next President - Emily Hecht-McGowan

[Scurrilous]

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"I live in Takoma Park, Maryland with my wife and our two young daughters, ages seven and three.

In 2012, while I was pregnant with our first child, Maryland was in the middle of a statewide referendum to repeal marriage rights for same-sex couples like mine. In every previous instance where marriage went up for a statewide vote, we lost at the ballot box. That year Maryland was one of four states with marriage equality on the ballot. The margins of support were razor thin — so thin, in fact, that some advocacy groups questioned whether we could win and felt their resources would be better utilized elsewhere. It didn’t look good.

In 2012, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was still the law of the land. Only six states granted same-sex marriage licenses and 30 states had constitutional amendments banning the freedom to marry. The political headwinds were against us.

While most people awaiting their first child spend time preparing the nursery, making lists of potential names, and scheduling hospital visits, my wife and I met with our lawyer. Because our “skim milk” marriage was only partially recognized, we worried about the legal dangers should we encounter a health scare or some other kind of emergency. We spent thousands of dollars drafting the numerous legal documents we needed to ensure our protection in a world that was still unwelcoming — and sometimes quite hostile — to our new little family.

We worked with several state and local groups to educate our friends and neighbors about why marriage was so critically important to our family. We knocked on doors and made telephone calls, but all of the polling showed us that we still had a lot of work to do to persuade the majority of Marylanders to vote with us.

Then on May 6, 2012 — a Sunday morning — Vice President Joe Biden appeared on Meet the Press. The national dialogue increasingly centered around the fight for marriage, so a related question was all but assured. By this time, the administration had ceased defending DOMA in the courts, but had stopped short of endorsing the freedom to marry as a fundamental right for all. When the question finally came to him, it was a simple proposition for the vice president: “Who do you love?”

In four words, Joe Biden became the highest-ranking U.S. official to affirm that my family is entitled to full dignity and equality under the law. In this one brief and unscripted answer, he moved our country forward. Just three days later, President Obama publicly affirmed his support for the freedom to marry."

https://www.out.com/commentary/2019/12/16/op-ed-why-i-believe-joe-biden-should-be-next-president


Biden's 2012 Endorsement of Same-Sex Marriage

https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/flashback-bidens-2012-endorsement-of-same-sex-marriage-471856195543

[Cha]

1. Excellent Endorsement from Emily Hecht-McGowan,

Scurrilous!

Then on May 6, 2012 — a Sunday morning — Vice President Joe Biden appeared on Meet the Press. The national dialogue increasingly centered around the fight for marriage, so a related question was all but assured. By this time, the administration had ceased defending DOMA in the courts, but had stopped short of endorsing the freedom to marry as a fundamental right for all. When the question finally came to him, it was a simple proposition for the vice president: “Who do you love?”

In four words, Joe Biden became the highest-ranking U.S. official to affirm that my family is entitled to full dignity and equality under the law. In this one brief and unscripted answer, he moved our country forward. Just three days later, President Obama publicly affirmed his support for the freedom to marry."

https://www.out.com/commentary/2019/12/16/op-ed-why-i-believe-joe-biden-should-be-next-president

Mahalo!