How Biden opposed gay rights for 50 YEARS after his high school ‘revelation’ when he saw two men kissing
- In 1996, Senator Biden (D-Delaware) voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, seen by many as a major setback for the gay rights movement.
- In 2006, Biden declared marriage “between a man and a woman.”
- In 2012, then-Vice President Biden changed course and told “Meet the Press” he supported same-sex marriage.
President Joe Biden is credited with pushing President Barack Obama to move forward on same-sex marriage in 2012, but said gay people were a ‘security risk’ 50 years ago and had previously voted against it. homosexual marriage.
This week, Biden spoke with The Daily Show’s guest host Kal Penn, an actor who recently came out as gay and a former Obama White House staffer. The president suggested his “epiphany” on gay rights came as early as high school.
“I remember exactly where my revelation was,” Biden said before recalling how he was a senior in high school and saw two men kissing as his father dropped him off. “And I will never forget it. I turned around and looked at my dad, and he said, ‘Joey, it’s simple. They love each other. It’s simple.”
“And it never was, it never was, it’s as simple as that, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a gay or straight couple, you should be able to get married.” So what’s the problem?’ Biden reflects.
In 2012, then-Vice President Biden told “Meet the Press” that he supported same-sex marriage. His improvised response surprised President Barack Obama
But in 1973, in Wilmington’s The Morning News, Biden didn’t entirely agree with gay rights.
“My visceral reaction,” Biden, 30, told gay rights activist Robert Vane at a Delaware civic association meeting, “is that they (gay people) are risks to the security, but I have to admit that I haven’t given it much thought”. .. I will be cursed!’
Over the years, then-Senator Joe Biden has not always stood up for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.
1993: Then-Senator Biden voted for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a policy that kept gay servicemen in the closet.
1994: Biden was with most senators who voted to cut funding to schools who supported the belief that homosexuality is an acceptable way of life, Mediaite reported.
1996: Biden also voted for the Defense of Marriage Act — another controversial bill signed by Clinton that prohibited extending federal benefits to same-sex couples who lived in states where same-sex marriage had been enacted.
2006: Biden commented in the Senate, “Marriage is between a man and a woman. What’s the game going on here?
2008: During the vice presidential debates, Biden was asked if she supported same-sex marriage. “No,” Biden said. “Barack Obama and I support redefining what constitutes marriage from a civil perspective. We don’t support that.
But in 2012, there was a seismic shift in Biden’s acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” as vice president, he made an unscripted remark supporting same-sex marriage – much to the surprise of the White House and Obama.
