"It's what the Constitution calls for. And so we do support it. We do support making sure that committed couples in a same-sex marriage are guaranteed the same constitutional benefits as it relates to their property rights, their rights of visitation, their rights to insurance, their rights of ownership as heterosexual couples do," said Senator Biden. "That's only fair."

As Governor of Alaska for the past two years, a state that grants benefits to same-sex couples, Governor Palin had similar views. "I would be […] tolerant of adults in America choosing their partners, choosing relationships that they deem best for themselves […]," she said. "But in that tolerance also, no one would ever propose, not in a McCain-Palin administration, to do anything to prohibit, say, visitations in a hospital or contracts being signed, negotiated between parties."

But neither candidate, despite being tolerant about granting same-sex benefits, are in favour of same-sex marriages, in that they undermine the traditional sense of marriage in man and wife.

"That is basically the decision to be able to be left to faiths and people who practice their faiths, the determination, what you call it," said Senator Biden when asked by the panel if he supported gay marriage. "Barack Obama nor I support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage," he said.

Governor Palin wished to tell the American people "straight up" that she did not support marriage between same-sex couples.

"I don't support defining marriage as anything but between one man and one woman, and I think through nuances we can go round and round about what that actually means," she said. "But I'm being as straight up with Americans as I can in my non-support for anything but a traditional definition of marriage."

The debate took place last night at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri. It was the first and only debate between the rivals of the vice presidency prior to the vote this November.



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