United States Vice-President Joe Biden was on Meet the Press today and he answered some questions and shared his views on same-sex marriage. Below is the transcribed excerpt.
GREGORY: The President has said that his views on gay marriage, on same-sex
marriage have evolved, but he's opposed to it. You're opposed to it.
Have your views evolved?
BIDEN: Look, I just think that 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.
Is what -- what all marriages at their root are about whether they're
marriages of lesbians or gay men or heterosexuals.
GREGORY: Is that what you believe now?
BIDEN: That's what I believe.
GREGORY: And you're comfortable with same-sex marriage now?
BIDEN: I -- I am -- 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 and women are entitled to the same exact rights,
all the civil rights, all the civil liberties.
BIDEN: And quite frankly, I don't see much of a distinction
beyond that.
GREGORY: In his second term would this administration come out
behind same-sex marriage, the institution of marriage?
BIDEN: Well, I -- I -- I can't speak to that. I -- I -- don't
know the answer to that. But I can tell you --
GREGORY: It sounds like you'd like to see it happen if that's
what the President will get --
BIDEN: Well, the President continues to fight, whether it's
"don't ask don't tell" or whether it is making sure across the board
that you cannot discriminate. Look at the executive orders he's put
in place. Any hospital that gets federal funding, which is almost all
of them. They can't deny a partner from being able to have access to
their -- their -- their partners or making a call on whether or not
they, you know -- it's just -- this is evolving.
And by the way, my measure, David, and I take a look at when
things really began to change is when the social culture changes. I
think "Will & Grace" probably did more to educate the American public
than almost anything, anybody has ever done so far.
And I think people fear that which is different. Now they're
beginning to understand.
