Countless polls on the subject of gay marriage have shown that opposition views have moderated in recent years. There are a number of opinions as to why the public’s judgment has transitioned towards a more even plane, but in the 2012 election cycle it is clearly the issue of least importance to voters.
The White House has taken a morally absent position on the subject of gay marriage, bobbing and weaving around the issue; at times they seem in favor of marital rights for the gay community then flip-flopping in support of marriage being between one man and one woman. If one were to ask the White House Press Secretary where the president stood on the subject you’d likely get an answer that would twist your head completely around your torso.
Biden Tees Up Another Ball for the GOP
Another Vice President Joe Biden slip-of-the-tongue has exposed the weakness and some truths behind the president’s tightrope walk across the issue.
Biden once again allowed his mouth to precede his brain into a conversation when he stated that he strongly backed gay marriage.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Biden said he is “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex marriages, adding that homosexual couples are entitled to “the exact same rights” as heterosexual ones.
Some will say that the vice president doesn’t speak for the administration, but how many people will buy that all-too-often excuse for Biden’s loose lips? Perhaps Biden simply doesn’t get the Obama program to stay on both sides of all controversial issues?
While Biden’s words may raise the hopes of many that a second Obama term may lead to federal recognition of all unions, irrespective of sexual orientation, there still remains a majority of Americans who look upon a marriage between members of the same sex in a negative fashion.
Biden told Meet the Press, “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.”
Though Biden tried to step it back by stating that his views were his personally, as opposed to that of the administration, most will look upon the vice president’s words as a rather inept attempt to argue he and the president might be on opposite sides of the issue; no one believes in an election year that Biden is going to publically state a view that doesn’t coincide with that of the president.
What it does state, without dispute, is that it represents a strong indication that the White House is moving towards an official policy of backing same-sex marriage.
When asked directly if President Obama would support gay marriage in a second term, Biden said: “I don’t know the answer to that.”
Could there be a more ridiculous statement ever issued by a vice president? Biden is completely aware of what his boss believes at this point; to argue otherwise is the epitome of political balderdash. How can we take anything Biden says seriously if at the end of a four-year term in the White House he doesn’t know where the president stands on an significant issue?
In a campaign event just yesterday Obama trumpeted his record on gay rights, such as the removal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that encouraged gay members of the armed forces to hide their sexuality.
He told a crowd of supporters in Columbus, Ohio, that never again would America go back to the days when someone could get thrown out of the army because of “who you are or who you love”.
On the president’s re-election website the campaign touts 40 key changes they have made to support gay rights.
During the Meet the Press interview, Biden said the portrayal of gay people on TV shows such as Will & Grace had helped shaped society’s views in recent years.
Is that what we’ve become, a nation that decides society’s issues based on Hollywood writer’s views? Does Biden truly believe that people base their moral opinions on television programs? Does Biden suggest that left-wing writers in Hollywood begin producing television programs to mold public opinion on other controversial issues such as abortion or the Republican’s faux war on woman? Hey Joe, how about heading out to the “left coast” to start your new career this November?
Despite Mitt Romney wishy-washy views on gay rights, he’s either taken a politically expedient move to the right for the primaries or he’s made a personal judgment that, while intolerable in Massachusetts, honestly represents his personal view that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.
While the White House may be trying to walk back from Biden’s words, his campaign is doing quite the opposite. In a tweet, the president’s campaign strategist David Axelrod denied that the two men differed on the subject.
Obama Campaign Gives Thumbs-up to Biden
“What VP said – that all married couples should have exactly the same legal rights – is precisely POTUS’s (the president’s) position,” he posted.
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said he was “encouraged” by the development, adding: “Now is the time for President Obama to speak out for full marriage equality for same-sex couples.”
So if you are in support of men marrying men or woman marrying woman you are going to have to decide which Obama Joe Biden was representing: the one that has done so much for gay rights and supports gay marriage or the one that floats around issues and stays so uncommitted that you must flip a coin to determine where he stands.
If you believe that marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman, add one more item to the ever-growing list of reasons why Messrs.’ Obama and Biden need to head home to work on their next memoirs.