Pro-Prop. 8 camp pleased by VP debate

While pundits argue whether Joe Biden or Sarah Palin won the vice presidential debate, backers of California’s initiative to ban same-sex marriage are confident they came out on top.

Biden and Palin both said they believe marriage should be between one man and one woman. They each also said they believe there should be no discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Proponents of Proposition 8, which would ban same-sex marriage, sent out a campaign e-mail Saturday quoting Biden’s and Palin’s stands on same-sex marriage and posted snippets of the debate on their YouTube site.

“Do you support gay marriage?” moderator Gwen Ifill asked. “No,” Biden answered. “Barack Obama nor I support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage. We do not support that. That is basically the decision to be able to be left to faiths and people who practice their faiths.”

The e-mail then quoted Palin as saying: “My answer is the same as his and it is that I do not.”

Frank Schubert, managing the Yes-on-8 campaign, said Saturday that the quotes demonstrate that “people of both parties, leading Democrats and leading Republicans, all agree that marriage should be between a man and a woman.”

What the Yes-on-8 campaign didn’t mention in its e-mail is that both Obama and Biden oppose Proposition 8.

Ben LaBolt, spokesman for the Obama-Biden ticket, said Obama opposes Proposition 8 and “similar discriminatory constitutional amendments that could roll back the civil rights he and Sen. Biden strongly believe should be afforded to all Americans.”