DENVER (AP) – Democrats, including GLBT leaders, quickly coalesced around Sen. Joe Biden, expressing their support of Biden as Barack Obama’s choice for the Democrats’ vice presidential candidate.

Obama announced Saturday that Biden, a senator from Delaware for the past 36 years, would be his running mate, passing over Sen. Hillary Clinton, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh.

Gay and lesbian rights activists chimed in on Obama’s choice soon after he made the announcement that Biden would be his running mate, saying during Biden’s career in Congress, he has a proven record of fighting for and supporting issues of fairness and equality.

“In selecting Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate, Senator Obama has chosen a proven and effective advocate for fairness and equality that our entire community can be proud of,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “Senator Biden’s record in the United States Senate is one of support and understanding that has been unwavering throughout his career.”

Recently, Biden, as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, played an instrumental role in securing the passage of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), legislation which included Sen. John Kerry and Sen. Gordon Smith’s provision repealing the discriminatory HIV travel and immigration ban. His working across the aisle guaranteed that the Kerry-Smith provision was adopted. Furthermore, when opponents of the provision attempted to garner support to strip the provision from the bill, Biden fought to keep the provision in the bill and helped secure the votes for PEPFAR’S final passage.

“We only need to look back to the recent passage of the repeal of the HIV travel and immigration ban to see the type of leadership we can expect from Sen. Biden on the issues important to our community,” Solmonese said. “It was because of his determination and tenacity that we were able to see this relic of discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS torn down.”

Additionally, Biden scored a 78 percent from the HRC 2006 rankings on GLBT rights, indicating a pro-gay-rights stance. In August 2007 he said that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is “antiquated and unworkable.”

“If the support Sen. Biden has proven on our issues is any indication of the type of vice president he will be than our community can be assured that Sen. Obama has chosen a thoughtful and staunch advocate for equality as his closest adviser,” Solmonese said.

Meanwhile, gay and lesbian Democrats gathered early last week to form a strategy for this week’s convention, which started on Monday, and their marching orders are the same for all states: Make sure other delegates know who you are and what gay voters want this fall.

The Stonewall Democrats started a four-day “boot camp” in Denver Thursday. At the top of its agenda for the convention is pushing Democrats to fight proposed same-sex marriage bans in three states and passing federal anti-discrimination laws.

With a record 370 lesbian, gay and transgender delegates to this year’s convention, Stonewall Democrats say they’re primed to drive Democrats’ plans more than ever before. The number of gay delegates is up almost 100 from 2004, and they now make up some six percent of all delegates. Only two states – Nebraska and North Dakota – won’t send any openly gay delegates.

Stonewall Democrats spokesman John Marble said the No. 1 message of gay delegates should be that a gay-friendly agenda from Democrats will help the party as a whole. The group will argue that opposing anti-gay-rights measures on ballots in Arizona, California and Florida will help Democratic fortunes in all races in November.

“It’s something our nominee should feel comfortable talking about,” said Ann Baker, a Stonewall Democrat from Roosevelt, N.J.

One topic not on the table this week: a federal same-sex marriage push. Obama has said he favors civil unions but not same-sex marriage, and Stonewall Democrats are unlikely to push party delegates to call for federal marriage equality.

“As far as the marriage issue, our focus on marriage is on the state and local level,” Marble said. He said gay Democratic delegates will talk more about a possible federal ban on discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgendered employees.

But Marble added that Democrats have made clear they value gay and lesbian votes.

Gay Republicans are putting together a “Big Tent Event” during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis next month.

Log Cabin Republican President Patrick Sammon says there’s fresh optimism among gay Republicans that they’ll have a bigger influence of their party at this year’s convention, though they haven’t announced who will meet with them.

“We have our strongest presence ever at a Republican convention” with about two dozen delegates, Sammon said. “We are there to talk about why the party needs to be more inclusive” and push Republicans to avoid “socially divisive issues” such as same-sex marriage.