Tag Archives: gay

Biden Supports Same-Sex Marriage at Arm’s Length

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Today on Meet the Press, Vice President Joe Biden gave a decidedly non-committal show of support for same-sex marriage:

David 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.

Biden’s (non-)answer largely echoes the sentiments of President Obama, who has not come out directly in support of same-sex marriage, but has claimed that his views on the matter are still “evolving.”

It’s unclear why the White House has kept this issue at arms length for so long, given that support for same-sex marriage has increased steadily for two decades. Supporters of same-sex marriage tend to be younger, as do Obama voters. In fact, public support for same-sex marriage is now net positive for the first time.

Graph showing increased public support for gay marriage

When the numbers are broken down by demographic, nearly all of Barack Obama’s key constituencies - millennials, gen-Xers, registered Democrats, and registered Independents – appear to support gay marriage.

Graph showing gay marriage support by demographics

The notable exception to that trend is black voters, whose support for same-sex marriage is relatively low. Even so, the political calculus seems to indicate that finally “evolving” on this issue might benefit the President.

This all assumes that the President is, in fact, a supporter of same-sex marriage, of course. Given his campaign rhetoric and the State Department’s recent efforts to stop the worldwide persecution of gay people, it seems reasonable to conclude that Obama supports marriage equality. However, as Slate’s Matt Yglesias said tongue-in-cheekily on Twitter today:

Maybe Obama is fanatically opposed to gay marriage and is pretending to be only pretending to be opposed for political reasons.

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Rick Santorum’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 1

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Depending on who you ask, Rick Santorum is either en route to the top of the nationwide polls, or he’s already there. As such, it’s time we take a look back at some of the more ridiculous things the gentleman has said over the course of his career.

Santorum Vs. England College

Here’s a good place to start! This was a fairly tougn one to find in its entirety, so you guys are lucky; it’s Rick arguing with a college crowd in New Hampshire and ultimately being booed off stage. It’s worth watching all ten minutes.

Rick Breaks Into the Bedroom

(Fast forward to 17:47 on this one for the good stuff.)

Here’s the quote from the 17:57 mark:

One of the things I will talk about, that no President has talked about before is, I think, the dangers of contraception in this country… that many in the Christian faith have said… is okay. It’s not okay. It’s a license to do things in the sexual realm that is counter to the way things are supposed to be.

Something, Something, Gay People

And Santo gets the Constitution a li’l bit wrong here about the government’s granting of privileges as per the 14th amendment.

BlackPeopleGate (Part I)

How could we forget BlackPeopleGate. The question was about welfare and Santo accidentally addressed his answer toward black people (who receive 34.1% of TANF assistance nationwide and 9% of the food stamps in Iowa where these statements were made). Whoops!

BlackPeopleGate (Part II)

And here’s Santorum claiming to have said “blah” people. I actually kind of believe him.

Videos from: NBC News, ThinkProgress, CNN, Fox News, Caffeinated Thoughts

Two Words About Gay Equality: Why Not?

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A while back, long before the spotlight had been cast upon him, I wrote a blog post about Newt Gingrich, who had said that gay marriage was a passing fad. That didn’t really fly with me, and I don’t think it should fly with anybody.

Newt’s ascendance as a no-nonsense conservative and an unlikely champion of family values requires that his words be revisited. Here they are:

I believe that marriage is between a man and woman. It has been for all of recorded history and I think [gay marriage] is a temporary aberration that will dissipate. I think that it just fundamentally goes against everything we know.

I made all the arguments I need about this specific case in the old post, but I still struggle to wrap my head around the fact denying gay people the right to get married qualifies as a “family value.”

My goal for this post, admittedly, was to write something preachy and grating in defense of gay-this or gay-that, but why should being gay require defense at all?

Not everywhere, but in too many places, gay people are stereotyped and stigmatized, called a threat to wholesome family life and denied basic rights. Why should anybody be made to answer baseless, blanket accusations?

(Don’t worry, this will still be preachy and grating.)

The burden of proof should lie with the people who accuse gays of debasing this sacred institution or that sacred institution. The default setting should not be “gays are bad, tell me where I’m wrong”, but should instead be “gays are pretty much just like regular people, tell me where I’m wrong.”

If gay people are corrupting your children or devaluing your marriage, prove it.

If you say gay households are bad for children, prove it.

After all the old arguments have been exhausted, as upsetting as it may be to some, gay people are pretty much just regular. No secret gay agenda exists to undermine Christianity or take over society, nor do door-to-door Gayvangelists roam suburban streets trying to lure your sons and daughters into a life of homosexual debauchery.

No evil, no blasphemy, no bad juju. Just a bunch of folks who would be immeasurably better off if they were afforded full legal and social equality.

Given the option of extending equal treatment under the law and equal avenues to personal happiness and fulfillment, there’s only one appropriate question to ask:

Why not?