In 2006, then-Sen. Joe Biden ranted against the supposed irrelevance of a proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage in federal law as one man, one woman.
“We already have a law, the Defense of Marriage Act,” he said. “I’ve voted, and others have said, look, marriage is between a man and a woman and states must respect that. Nobody’s violated that law, there’s been no challenge to that law. Why do we need a constitutional amendment? Marriage is between a man and a woman.”
Sixteen years later, President Joe Biden stood on the lawn of the White House and chortled that he had finally enshrined same-sex marriage into federal law. “Today’s a good day,” he said. “A day America takes a vital step toward equality, toward liberty and justice, not just for some, but for everyone.”
A vital step. Not the final step. Not the culminating step. A vital step.
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