Promise Me, Dad:, by Joe Biden: on Civil Rights


Anthony Kennedy: Right to same-sex marriage is a fundamental right

On June 26, 2015, the news broke. "A historic day here at the Supreme Court ," came the report from CNN, from just outside the court. "You can probably hear gay rights advocates to my right cheering this decision, authored by Justice Kennedy, saying that the right to marriage is a fundamental right and gays and lesbians cannot be excluded from that right. In this broad ruling by Justice Kennedy, he says 'the right to marry is a fundamental right,' and same-sex couples may not be deprived of liberty, or that right to marriage. So again, ruling today is that same-sex marriage is a nationwide constitutional right. This is one of the greatest civil rights issues of our time and this is what gay rights advocates have been hoping for decades."

The decision was 5-4. Justice Kennedy, who was sworn in during the final year of Ronald Reagan's presidency, was not only the swing vote but also the author of the majority opinion in the landmark decision.

Source: Promise Me, Dad,by Joe Biden, p.210-1 Nov 14, 2017

Strom Thurmond: 1990s: Can't gays be converted so they're like other people?

Jeffery Levi, the executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, came to provide testimony at a Judiciary Committee hearing in 1986. The witness presented the statistic that about 10 percent of the American population is gay, which means something like thirty million Americans. Strom had a hard time processing this fact and wandered down a line of questioning that was not intended to be mean-spirited, but was nonetheless wounding.

"Does your organization advocate any kind of treatment for gays and lesbians to see if they can change them and make them normal like other people?"

"Senator, we consider ourselves to be quite normal, thank you. We just happen to be different from other people."

"You don't think gays and lesbians could be converted so they'd be like other people in some way?"

"We think we are like other people, with one small exception."

"A small exception? It's a pretty big exception isn't it?"

"Unfortunately, society makes it a big exception."

Source: Promise Me, Dad,by Joe Biden, p.213-4 Nov 14, 2017

  • The above quotations are from Promise Me, Dad
    A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose,
    by Joe Biden    .
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Civil Rights.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Joe Biden on Civil Rights.
  • Click here for more quotes by Barack Obama on Civil Rights.
2020 Presidential contenders on Civil Rights:
  Republicans:
Gov.John Kasich(OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(IN)
Pres.Donald Trump(NY)
Gov.Bill Weld(MA) 		Democrats:
V.P.Joe Biden(DE)
Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren(MA)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
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Page last updated: Apr 11, 2019