The headline speakers at a key event organized by the nation's largest gay rights group may well end up becoming rivals for the Democrats' 2016 nomination -- if Joe Biden decides to launch his own White House bid, that is.

The vice president and the party's current frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, will both address the Human Rights Campaign on Oct. 3, the Washington Post reported. They will make appearances at Washington's sold-out Walter E. Washington Convention Center within a few hours of each other, the newspaper noted.

The group particularly praised Biden, who is often credited with having sped up President Barack Obama's decision to back same-sex marriage as he announced his own support for such unions in a 2012 "Meet the Press" interview. Chad Griffin, the Human Rights Campaign's president, called him a "true champion" of lesbian, gay, bisxual and transgender (LGBT) rights, the Washington Examiner reported.

"Vice President Biden has stood up for the rights of all Americans to live their lives free from discrimination and fear throughout his remarkable career," Griffin said in a statement. "From his historic announcement in support of marriage equality to his ongoing commitment to achieving full federal equality for LGBT Americans, the vice president has proven time and again that he's a stalwart ally to our community," he added.

As for Clinton, the group underlines a speech in which the then-secretary of state underlined in 2011 that "gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights," according to the Associated Press. The top Democrat has "actively courted" gay and lesbian voters by featuring gay couples in her advertising and discussing LGBT issues at town halls.

Dana Perlman, a former Human Rights Campaign board member who raised more than $500,000 for Obama in 2012, told the newswire that he were no concerns about the gay community's support for the former first lady's 2016 White House bid.

"Every single Clinton supporter I have spoken with about this question remains firmly committed and dedicated to her campaign," Perlman said.