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Loading ...Nadler, Baldwin and Polis to introduce legislation to repeal DOMA
09.11.2009 12:36pm EDT
From a statement:
(Washington, D.C.) Next Tuesday, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) will introduce legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a law which discriminates against lawfully married same-sex couples.
The legislators will be joined by married same-sex couples harmed by DOMA and many of the country’s premier LGBT and civil rights advocates in a press conference to announce the new bill, at 11:00am on Tuesday, September 15, 2009, at the House Triangle, near the southern steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.Through DOMA, which was signed into law 13 years ago, on September 21, 1996, the federal government singles out legally married same-sex couples for discriminatory treatment under federal law, selectively denying them more than 1,100 federal protections and responsibilities – including Social Security and immigration benefits – that otherwise apply to married couples. This policy is discriminatory and harmful to families, preventing the government from honoring its legal commitments and the needs of families, even though these couples have assumed the obligations of civil marriage under state law and contribute as citizens and taxpayers.
President Obama has said recently: “I stand by my long-standing commitment to work with Congress to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. It’s discriminatory, it interferes with States’ rights, and it’s time we overturned it.” Married gay and lesbian couples pay taxes, serve their communities, and raise children like other couples. Their contributions and needs are no different from those of their neighbors. The new legislation will ensure that couples who assume the serious legal duties of marriage are treated fairly under federal law. The specifics of this legislation will be announced on Tuesday.
Great News. Hopefully this outdated piece of HATE can be done away with. I expect the bigots, oops I mean “defenders of traditional marriage” will put up quite a stink about this.
I hope fair minds will prevail.
Tom in Long Beach
If this is a full repeal, there is no chance of it passing. It may be possible to repeal the provisions of DOMA denying federal recognition of same sex marriage, but there is no chance of repealing the provisions allowing states to refuse to recognize same sex marriages performed in other states.
Yes this law harms GLBT family’s for sure. A typical gay couple with two kids winds up paying or loosing almost $250,000.00 over their lifetimes in lost benefits, taxes, club memberships, health care and other “family” packages, social security, inheritance rights etc..
That amounts to the cost of a house in most states. Could you imaging telling the straights that they would have to buy their house “twice” because they are straight? There would be bloodshed in the streets over it.
I am ready to marry my binational partner. hope it gets repealed
Hopefully all binational couples and other same sex couples have the same rights as the hetersexual couples
This is some of the work that our community has to help with, we should all be emailing our representatives in congress and tell them to support repealing DOMA.
YOUR senators and congressmen/women will not listen to you if you remain silent.
Go to http://www.senate.gov and look under “senators”
Go to http://www.house.gov and look under “representatives
Find your people and make them listen to your voice, email them often, email them daily, write letters to their offices, make them know your demand for equality.
http://www.citizenzero.us
I’d like to know if binational couples will benefit from DOMA’s repeal. I’ve heard that even if they overturn that, the new bill wouldn’t recoganize mariages of binational couples for immigration maters. Is that occur??
Interesting, hope you all are following the case in MASS too. ..for those interested in binational…the law you are interested in is UAFA, Uniting Americans Families Act. FOR REVIEW of all pertinent info and actions re GAY RIGHTs. SEE CHANGE.Org Gayr Rights. Michael Jones is doing a great job …and over 30,000 follow!
excelent! maybe we can get it repealed under the haters nose since there whole focas as of late is denying healthcare to all who dont have company health insurence.
Please throw your support behind these members of Congress.