Vice President Joe Biden sees gay marriage consensus

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN, McClatchy News Service

WASHINGTON -- Attitudes toward same-sex marriage are ``evolving,'' and a national consensus for gay marriage is inevitable, Vice President Joe Biden said Friday.

Biden gave a somewhat more optimistic view than President Barack Obama, who earlier this week told reporters: ``I think this is something that we're going to debate and I personally am going to continue to wrestle with, going forward.''

Friday, Biden cited the administration's successful push to repeal the military's 17-year-old ``don't ask don't tell'' policy toward gays as a sign of the change in public attitudes. He saw the trend as leading to support of same-sex marriage.

``I think the country's evolving,'' he said in an interview on ABC's Good Morning America, ``and I think there's an inevitability for a national consensus on gay marriage. That is my view. But this is the president's policy, but it is evolving. I think the country's evolving.''

He discussed the change in military attitudes and recalled how Obama told military officials to prepare to end the ``don't ask don't tell'' policy. ``I think the same thing is happening across the country with regard to the issue of marriage,'' he said.

Congress approved overturning the ``don't ask, don't tell'' policy last week with bipartisan support, and Obama signed the legislation Wednesday. The Pentagon is now studying how to implement the policy, which could take several months.

Finding consensus on gay marriage could take some time, despite Biden's optimism. A Pew survey released in October, based on two polls taken over several months, found that 48 percent opposed allowing gays and lesbians to legally marry, while 42 percent were in favor. Still, a Pew analysis noted, ``for the first time in 15 years, fewer than half oppose same-sex marriage.''

About 6,500 people were surveyed. The margin of error is plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.

Pew also found ``the shift in opinion on same-sex marriage has been broad-based, occurring across many demographic, political and religious groups.

Comments

[Thomas Alex]

It really doesn't matter what the percentage is that oppose it. When Interracial Marriage was legalized by the SCOTUS, only 4 states allowed it. Once Perry v Schwarzenegger reaches the highest court in our country, the SCOTUS will rule once again that Marriage is a Civil Right protected by the US Constitution.

[Jeff Martens]

It's sad that the government of our great country is actually considering such an agenda as legalization of same sex marriage. By even seriously considering putting that into law, it is audaciously attempting to abandon a much higher law-God's law. Make no mistake, man's will to assert supreme authority on this topic will not turn out well in time. Just study history and take a look what has happened to cultures which have taken this course.

[Brian]

Jeff, Your threats are growing more and more tiresome. We don't all have to live in your warped belief system. If you don't like same sex marriage, don't have one. Free your mind.

[Steven]

Brian said it so well!!

[Stan Martinnelli]

Jeff comes from a fear based hippo-christian paradigm. He's just confused.

[Joseph]

Jeff,

Jesus would not agree with your assesment!

Merry Christmas

[Robert Morris]

"Cultures which have taken this course"? Please, tell me one society whose downfall was allowing gay marriage.

Didn't think so.

[jimmyc]

The word was created to describe the union between a man and a woman. Why is that so hard to grasp?

[Sam]

Um...it was ADAM and E.V.E. not Adam and STEVE...or else duh dude they would have stayed all alone in this world....get the picture. Didnt think so but it was a TRY. And one civilization that FELL because of same sex marriage...TRY SODOM and GOMORAH... and yes JESUS VOTED IT OUT.

[Sam]

Even if for some unknown reason the 1 percent gay votes make enough noise to get it leagalized, It wont solve anything just like DADT....will just out and get violence and death happening in the military. A law wont change acceptance. Did you know it is LEGAL TO SMOKE tobacco....yeah but it is getting harder and harder to do it now days. Ya you see 2 people freezing and dancing in the cold back door outside, the last two left. But hey its still legal for the moment.

[tomg]

Sam,
Fairy tales don't count. Try again.

[Ronald]

I'm just a regular man that happens to like the same sex. I feel all of this comes from taught ignorance passed down from times long lost. The nation won't grow until our minds do.

[Rowdy]

Perhaps many of you writing these comments should actually take it upon yourselves to do some research on gay people instead of getting all your news and information from Fox News.... I think you will be pleasantly surprised what you'll find out for yourselves. Gay people are not pedophiles, rapists, and deviants of society. Gay people are all around us, teaching your children, providing health care, driving your bus, doing your taxes, hauling away your garbage, checking your groceries, selling you cars....you get the picture. I challenge you to find the answers for yourselves instead of being sheep of the bullies.

[Jason]

Any gay person already has the ability to marry. They can chose to live a decent life and marry someone of the opposite sex.

[Jason]

The problem here is that this deviant cultural subset decides to live a life that excludes them from marriage and then self proclaims their entitlement to marriage. They believe they can do anything they chose and still deserve anything they want. They mask their ambitions by labeling any opposition as "fear" and "hatred" so as to deflect attention away from their arrogance. The issue of same sex marriage, an oxymoron, is a reflection of this growing entitlement culture in this country.

[Joe Freeman]

The problem here is that this deviant christian subset decides to live a life that excludes them from civil society and then self proclaims their entitlement to rule. They believe they can do anything they chose and still deserve anything they want. They mask their ambitions by labeling any opposition as "sinful" and "evil" so as to deflect attention away from their arrogance. The issue of same religious freedom, an oxymoron, is a reflection of this christian entitlement culture in this country.

[me.yahoo.com/a/nztoIigGvoLP.6Kq30F06x3mIMWXRylY0Q--]

The gay marriage debate is a complete smokescreen to the real issue of whether or not government should be in the marriage licensing business in the first place. The Government Free Marriage movement looks to bring all sides of this issue together by getting government out of the equation. Resolve this issue. Government Free Marriage now!

[Jim]

It's wonderful to live in the USA where we supposedly support freedom of religion. You practice your religion and its beliefs and DON'T impose or try to impose them on anyone else...keep them within your circle of your faith. Leave the rest of us alone. Don't be a bigot...it's YOUR choice.
Now about your Christian beliefs. Jesus, as a teacher, never addressed the issue of homosexuality; he was apparently a defender of those marginalized; that would be the homosexual community wouldn't it. The religious right often points to Leviticus and its calling homosexuality an Abomination; Leviticus also condemns shell fish, but no one seems to want to ban the eating of shell fish. Deuteronomy 21 wants children stoned to death for misbehaving, but I don't see any movement to start collecting stones.
So what's the Christian Right's agenda? Their beliefs psychologically hurt people...bullying, suicides, and the inability to love without the fear of reprisal.
I just want to be able to hold my partner's hand, and to kiss him in public...all the things heterosexuals do in public. I'm not hurting you, leave me alone so I can enjoy the freedoms you enjoy. After all, what would Jesus say?

[Jesus Christ]

Jason wrote: "Any gay person already has the ability to marry. They can chose to live a decent life and marry someone of the opposite sex."
_____________

So... a man with a homosexual orientation will somehow find a (really dumb) heterosexual woman willing to marry her, he won't be able to "consummate" anything, or maybe he will (technically speaking) and children enter the picture. It's inevitable that such sham marriages end in divorce, with many casualties in the process, and yet you believe this is "decent".

[Ashley Marie]

there is a fine line when you judge a person by its cover and or by his/her's sexuality. We are no different. Yes i am a lesbian and surely am proud of it. Living the life i feel comfortable in and living the life that i love. I hope some day we are able to get marry any where in the US. Heterosexual couples do nothing different than a homosexual couple. the ONLY difference is which is obviously the same sex, but that does not mean we should not have the same rights as a heterosexual....this is something that the US has been battling for quite some time now, wouldn't you think enough is enough and realize just because it is not legal does not mean it will not happen. like it was said above by another person, gays and lesbians are all around us. there is no telling, so if you are still tied up in the mind that you can not see past the sexuality of a human (which in the bible states we are all brother's and sister's; we are no one to pass judgment upon others) then you should not be apart of what this world is trying to become. which is a "open country, with no judgment".

[Ana]

i would just like to say for those of yous that stood up and defended us we thank you and appreciate.Now for those of yous that doesn't agree with it you all should look in a mirror before you speak. Like someone had said do your research and speak or see how same sex life is??????!!!!!!!...... Thinking about it right..... Well dont think too hard because if you see there nothing so different about US and YOU!!!just because there is a label; for example Gays & Lesbians: those words do not DEFINE WHO WE ARE WITHIN. We argue just like you, throw things just like you, we eat just like you, we LIVE just like you, but most of all we LOVE just like you... So in reality we are exactly alike the ONLY difference is that its two women or two men. Now if you really want to do the research than look at this: 48% said NO to same-sex marriage but and i say BUT 42% said yes. So that means in due time SAME-SEX MARRIAGE WILL BE LEGAL and soon enough will be in all 50 states. So keep in mind not to judge a book by its cover because you will not be able to predict the out come. Like a song goes:" UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL" WE ARE STANDING TALL AND ARE NOT GIVING UP UNTIL WE GET THE SAME RIGHTS...

[Ana]

to Ashley Marie: I LOVE YOU BABY AND WE ARE STRONG TOGETHER!!!!!1