Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (IL) has selected Senator Joe Biden (DE) to be his vice-presidential pick.
Let's take a closer look at where Senator Biden stands on LGBT issues.
PRO's:
*Supports repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy that bars gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.
"Our allies -- the British, the French, all our major allies -- gays openly serve. I don't know the last time an American soldier said to a backup from a Brit, "Hey, by the way, let me check. Are you gay? Are you straight?" This is ridiculous."
*Supports civil unions between same-sex couples.
"Well, I think it probably is because social mores change. But I don't think the government can dictate the definition of marriage to religious institutions. But government does have an obligation to guarantee that every individual is free of discrimination. And there's a distinction. I think government should not be able to dictate to religions the definition of marriage, but on a civil side, government has the obligation to strip away every vestige of discrimination as to what individuals are able to do in terms of their personal conduct."
*Voted NO on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage.
*In favor of same-sex couples adoption rights.
*Voted YES to add sexual orientation to list of hate crimes.
*Voted YES on prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation.
CON's
*Voted for the Defense of Marriage Act. (Current position on that piece of legislation unknown)
*Not in attendance at historic "Visible Vote '08" LOGO's LGBT Presidential Forum
Senator Joe Biden receives a 78% rating from the Human Rights Campaign indicating a pro-gay rights voting record.
Fore more info on where the campaign lies on LGBT issues:
Obama's Stance on LGBT Issues
Obama Pride Video Collage
Posts
4 comments:
Obama Biden President and VP!... http://www.enewsreference.wordpress.com
Haha, Biden wasn't exactly my first choice...I'm afraid his badassness may be too much for Obama :P
Oh, QU, I know this isn't horribly interesting but I'm going to East Tennessee State University now, which is in--wait for it--east TN. In the Smokey damn Mountains. Today we had a sort of rally and did some fun skits about college life, and one of them addressed coming out as gay/lesbian to a room mate and how hard it can be.
I found this significant because A) TN (especially the east) is one of the more close-minded places you can be (racist, sexist, all kinds of -ists) and B) You never really--or I don't--see this issue addressed, homosexuality in college. And if it is it's usually not handled in such a realistic manner. I've always wondered why this is, I mean we know there are obviously gays that go to college. But save for support groups and what not it seems like they're just...ignored, you know what I mean?
Anyway, I just wanted to share that because it was positive :P
Thanks for the information... I really like his civil union statement... Although, supporting the DOMA was a purely political move, at that time. Social conscienceness has changed enough for politicians to openly oppose such awful legislation.
We could do a lot worse. I'm not 100% pleased with Obama or Biden, but there is no way on God's green earth I'll be voting for McCain in November... so there you have it.
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