Democratic
presidential
candidate
Barack
Obama’s
decision
to
pick
Sen.
Joe
Biden
(D-Del.)
as
his
vice
presidential
running
mate
drew
immediate
praise
from
gay
activists
in
Delaware,
who
called
Biden
a
strong
and
reliable
friend
of
the
gay
community.
After
more
than
two
months
of
deliberation
over
selecting
a
vice
presidential
nominee,
Obama
announced
Biden’s
selection
shortly
after
3
a.m.
Aug.
23
in
text
messages
and
e-mails
sent
to
his
campaign
supporters.
Although
Biden,
65,
has
not
signed
on
as
a
co-sponsor
for
as
many
gay-related
bills
as
activists
would
have
liked,
he
has
voted
for
gay-supportive
legislation
and
against
anti-gay
measures
nearly
every
time
such
legislation
came
before
the
Senate
during
his
35-year
tenure
as
a
senator,
according
to
Delaware
activists.
“You
won’t
see
him
taking
the
lead
on
gay
issues,
but
whenever
there
is
a
vote,
he’s
always
with
us,”
said
Peter
Schott,
president
of
the
Stonewall
Democratic
Club
of
Delaware,
a
gay
rights
group.
Last
year,
after
announcing
his
candidacy
for
president,
Biden
joined
other
Democratic
presidential
candidates,
including
Obama,
in
expressing
support
for
an
employment
non-discrimination
bill
that
includes
both
gays
and
transgender
persons.
“We
have
reason
to
think
he’s
very
positive
on
all
LGBT
issues,”
said
Mara
Keisling,
executive
director
of
the
National
Center
for
Transgender
Equality.
In
a
questionnaire
sent
to
all
presidential
candidates
by
the
Human
Rights
Campaign,
Biden
also
indicated,
similar
to
Obama,
that
he
supports
civil
unions
for
same-sex
couples
rather
than
marriage
rights.
Biden
dropped
out
of
the
presidential
race
earlier
this
year
after
losing
to
Obama
and
other
candidates
in
the
early
primaries.
In
his
role
as
chair
of
the
Senate
Foreign
Relations
Committee,
Biden
has
been
credited
with
shepherding
through
the
Senate
earlier
this
year
a
sweeping
global
AIDS
relief
bill
that
includes
a
provision
repealing
the
U.S.
ban
on
HIV-positive
visitors
and
immigrants.
HRC
gave
Biden
a
rating
of
78
out
of
a
possible
100
in
its
most
recent
congressional
scorecard
on
gay-
and
AIDS-related
issues,
which
covered
the
years
2005-2006.
Biden
lost
points
in
the
rating,
according
to
HRC,
because
he
didn’t
sign
on
as
a
co-sponsor
to
the
Uniting
American
Families
Act,
which
would
allow
same-sex
partners
of
U.S.
citizens
who
are
foreign
nationals
to
obtain
the
same
immigration
benefits
as
foreigners
who
are
married
spouses
of
U.S.
citizens.
Delaware
activists
have
said
they
believe
Biden
would
vote
for
the
bill
if
it
reaches
the
Senate
floor.
Over
the
past
20
years,
Biden’s
HRC
scorecard
rating
varied
from
a
perfect
100
to
a
63.
In
recent
years,
Biden
has
voted
for
hate
crimes
legislation
and
against
a
constitutional
amendment
calling
for
banning
same-sex
marriage.
As
a
candidate
for
president
earlier
this
year,
Biden
said
he
favors
repealing
the
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell”
policy,
which
bans
gays
from
serving
openly
in
the
U.S.
military.
In
1994,
Biden
broke
ranks
with
many
of
his
Republican
and
Democratic
colleagues
by
voting
for
an
amendment
to
prevent
the
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell”
policy
from
being
enacted
into
law.
Biden’s
only
significant
vote
against
the
interests
of
gay
rights
came
in
1996,
when
he
joined
many
of
his
Democratic
colleagues
in
voting
for
the
Defense
of
Marriage
Act,
which
defines
marriage
under
federal
law
as
a
union
only
between
one
man
and
one
woman.
Information
compiled
by
HRC
shows
that
between
1990
and
2000,
Biden
voted
for
three
separate
versions
of
hate
crimes
bills
that
included
protections
for
gays.
“In
selecting
Sen.
Joe
Biden
as
his
running
mate,
Sen.
Obama
has
chosen
a
proven
and
effective
advocate
for
fairness
and
equality
that
our
entire
community
can
be
proud
of,”
said
HRC
President
Joe
Solmonese.
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