Joe Biden Defends Gay Relationships

Sen. Joe Biden made a strong statement for gay relationship equality during the only vice presidential debate, held Thursday evening in St. Louis.
When asked by moderator Gwen Ifill, “Do you support, as they do in Alaska, granting same-sex benefits to couples?”
Biden replied, “Absolutely. . . . Look, in an Obama-Biden administration, there will be absolutely no distinction from a constitutional standpoint or a legal standpoint between a same-sex and a heterosexual couple.”
He added: “The fact of the matter is that under the Constitution we should be granted - same-sex couples should be able to have visitation rights in the hospitals, joint ownership of property, life insurance policies, et cetera. That’s only fair. It’s what the Constitution calls for. And so we do support it.”
“We do support making sure that committed couples in a same-sex marriage are guaranteed the same constitutional benefits as it relates to their property rights, their rights of visitation, their rights to insurance, their rights of ownership as heterosexual couples do,” he added.
But when the question was put to Republican Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor skated around the question.
“Well, not if it goes closer and closer towards redefining the traditional definition of marriage between one man and one woman. And unfortunately that’s sometimes where those steps lead,” Palin said.