Biden says he jumped gun on gay marriage

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WASHINGTON, May 11 (UPI) -- U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden has apologized to President Barack Obama for jumping the gun on same-sex marriage, a Biden spokeswoman said Thursday.

Biden, appearing Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press," said he was "comfortable" with marriages contracted between two men or two women. Obama followed suit Wednesday, although he told an ABC interviewer the vice president "probably got a little over his skis" on the issue.

Staffers say Obama had made up his mind some time ago that he should go public on same-sex marriage and planned to do it before the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., the week of Sept. 3.

"The president has been the leader on this issue from Day 1 and the vice president never intended to distract from that," The Washington Post reported Kendra Barkoff, Biden's press secretary, said in a statement Thursday.

Staffers said Biden saw Obama for the first time this week on Wednesday and apologized. The president said he understood Biden had spoken based on his beliefs, the newspaper said.