Biden officiates same-sex wedding
Joe Biden officiated his first wedding --which also happened to be a union between two men--at his residence near the Naval Observatory.
In a tweet, Biden said he "couldn't be happier" to marry two longtime White House staffers, Brian Mosteller, director of Oval Office operations for President Obama, and Joe Mahsie, a trip coordinator for first lady Michelle Obama.
According to CNN, Biden obtained a temporary certification from the District of Columbia after the two grooms asked if the vice president would help them tie the knot before a small gathering of immediate family members.
Following the ceremony, Dr. Jill Biden, the second lady, exclaimed, "Love is love!" in a tweet.
Vice President Biden is credited with accelerating the White House's embrace of LGBTQ-friendly policy in May 2012 when he unexpectedly endorsed same-sex marriage on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual men and women marrying one another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties," Mr. Biden said, while noting that the president, not he, sets policy on such matters.
Just a few days later, President Obama echoed the sentiments of his vice president, saying, "I think same-sex couples should be able to get married." In a 2015 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a right guaranteed by the Constitution in the United States.