Tag: DOMA

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White House endorses ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ bill, which would repeal DOMA

From LGBTQnation.com: On the eve of the first ever congressional hearing on proposals to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the White House on Tuesday announced President Barack Obama’s endorsement of the Respect For Marriage Act — the bill that would repeal DOMA.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters at Tuesday’s briefing that the president “is proud” to support the Respect For Marriage Act, “which would take the Defense of Marriage Act off the books for once and for all.”

The Respect for Marriage Act, introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) would repeal DOMA and restore the rights of all lawfully married couples, including same-sex couples, to receive the benefits of marriage under federal law.

Advocates of the repeal hailed the White House announcement.

“It is rare that a White House endorses a bill that has yet to pass first in either the Senate or the House,” said Rick Jacobs, chairman of the gay rights advocacy group Courage Campaign, in a statement. “His support makes clear to all Americans that the Defense of Marriage Act has no place in our society.”

“By supporting this legislation, the President continues to demonstrate his commitment to ending federal discrimination against tens of thousands of lawfully married same-sex couples,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese, in a statement.

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear testimony about the marriage legislation.

The hearing, entitled “S.598, The Respect for Marriage Act: Assessing the Impact of DOMA on American Families,” marks the first ever hearing on the issue of repealing DOMA since its enactment nearly 15 years ago.

DOMA, enacted in 1996, prevents any of the over 1,100 federal rights, benefits and responsibilities of marriage from being afforded to legally married same-sex couples.

Those benefits include Social Security survivor benefits, federal employee health benefits for spouses, protections against spouses losing their homes in cases of severe medical emergencies, the right to sponsor a foreign born partner for immigration, the guarantee of family and medical leave and the ability to file joint tax returns, among many others.

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New Poll: Americans oppose Defense of Marriage Act

From The Human Rights Campaign: American voters oppose, by a large margin, the Defense of Marriage Act – the law that forbids the federal government from recognizing legally married same-sex couples – as well as efforts by the House Republican leadership to intervene in court cases defending the law, according to new polling released by the Human Rights Campaign in partnership with Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research.

51 percent of voters oppose DOMA while 34 percent favor it. Independent voters, who were instrumental in the Republican House takeover, oppose the law by a 52 percent to 34 percent margin.

Additionally, when read statements for and against defending DOMA in court, 54 percent of voters oppose the House Republicans’ intervention, while only 32 percent support it.

Given a list of issues important in determining their vote for President, voters ranked the economy and jobs (54 percent), Medicare and Social Security (23 percent) and education (19 percent) as most important with only 5 percent of respondents saying marriage was most important to them.

Finally, when presented with the actual benefits from which married same-sex couples are excluded, voters overwhelmingly support extending those benefits.

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GOP House Leaders work on plan to defend DOMA

In response to President Obama and the Justice Department’s decision to stop defending the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act in court, House Republicans are now saying they are looking to have a plan in place by late this week to defend the law themselves.

House Speaker John Boehner said in an interview Monday that the GOP led House may appoint a special counsel to defend the law in the Justice Department’s absence.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said “Again I do believe that this is a case that is distinguishable on its merits and to have the administration take the position, the president take the position, that he’s not defending the law of the land, is something very troubling I think to most members of the House.”

In a case of irony and double-speak, Rep. Boehner’s original response last week was to question the President for addressing the anti-gay law instead of focusing on job creation: “While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending, the President will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversial issue that sharply divides the nation.”

Now however, Mr. Boehner and Mr. Cantor seem to have decided that they will put their focus on anti-gay policy instead of the ongoing economic issues facing the country.

During the last election, Republicans stated over and over again that job creation would be their driving focus and goal. However, since taking over the majority of the House, it seems the Republicans have done everything BUT focus on jobs. They have tried to repeal health care reform, change abortion laws and roll back regulations on the safety of food in the US – just about everything BUT job creation.

Mr. Boehner. Mr. Cantor – why are you addressing everything but job creation?

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How some conservatives are twisting DOMA announcement

Pretty cut and dried, and simple.

The Obama administration clearly stated that DOMA will not be defended in appeals courts, but it will be enforced. It is still the law of the land.

For anyone confused by what you might hear elsewhere, here’s a clear statement of what is and what isn’t.

And regarding the marriage component, I guess Obama does have some catching up to do if he wants to speak to the issue of marriage in the way that serial adulterer Gingrich does. It’s almost laughable that Gingrich speaks to Obama “swearing on a Bible” when Gingrich swore on a Bible himself a few times. In a church. To his former wives.