Biden-Harris to lead Democratic Party presidential ticket
The Biden-Harris ticket is now official as former Vice President Joseph Biden accepted the nomination to run for president of the United States during the virtual Democratic National Convention.
The previous night, Biden chose California Senator Kamala Harris as his vice-president, making her the first woman of color as a vice president of a major party ticket.
Biden-Harris to headline party ticket
Known as the vice president of then-President Barack Obama, Biden said in accepting the Democratic Party nomination that he would be “an ally of the light, not the darkness.”
“While I will be a Democratic candidate, I will be an American president. I will work as hard for those who didn’t support me as I will for those who did,” he said.
Meanwhile, Harris is known for her commitment and track record working for the LGBTQ community. After she became a senator in 2016, Harris led efforts in pushing for LGBTQ rights.
In her acceptance speech, Harris talked about “a vision of our nation as a beloved community– where all are welcome, no matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we love.”
Harris’ speech coincided with the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women– though not black women– the right to vote.
Biden-Harris tandem draws broad support
Biden’s rivals for the nomination also spoke in his support, like the openly gay former mayor of South Bend, Indiana Pete Buttigieg, billionaire Michael Bloomberg, Andrew Yang, and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker.
“Love makes my marriage real, but political courage made it possible– including that of Joe Biden, who stepped out ahead of even this party when he said that marriage equality should be the law of the land,” Buttigieg said.
Buttigieg also connected to Harris’ remarks about the ‘inflection point’: “Can America be a place where faith is about healing and not exclusion? Can we become a country that lives up to the truth that Black lives matter?”
Meanwhile, Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin cited Biden’s role in passing the Affordable Care Act. Baldwin said: “Trust me: it was a ‘big f’ing deal’,” in reference to what Biden told Obama when the latter signed the ACA law.
On the other hand, Rick Chavez Zbur, executive director of the LGBTQ group Equality California said Harris “has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to civil rights and social justice for all LGBTQ+ people.”
Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said Harris was “an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ community, standing with us when many, even sometimes those within her own party, did not.”
Biden-Harris: Their track record
Biden had supported the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy as a Delaware senator as part of a larger defense bill after voting to remove the amendment. However, he supported its repeal when he was the vice president.
Further, Biden voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, but had previously opposed denying same-sex couples benefits.
In 2012, Biden declared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he supported the legalization of same-sex marriage before Obama made his own announcement.
Meanwhile, Harris has a track record of supporting LGBTQ rights during her tenure as a district attorney for San Francisco and as the California attorney general.
During her latter stint, Harris chose not to defend Proposition 8, the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage enacted at the ballot in 2008.