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Loading ...Support grows for federal DOMA repeal
05.12.2009 8:46am EDT
(Washington) Support is slowly growing in Congress for repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, but a bill has yet to be filed in either the House or the Senate.
The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, was passed in 1998 and bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex relationships.The latest to support repealing it is Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) one of the original supporters of the measure.
Harkin said he has changed his mind on same-sex marriage.
”We all grow as we get older, we learn things, we become more sensitive to people and people’s lives,” Harkin told Iowa public television.
”The more I’ve looked at that, I’ve grown to think differently about how we should live. I guess I’ve got to the point of live and let live.”
Harkin also said he would oppose any ballot measure to overturn gay marriage in his own state of Iowa where the Supreme Court ruled the state cannot prevent same-sex couples from marrying.
How soon a bill will be filed in Congress to overturn DOMA is anyone’s guess. If it were to pass President Obama has said he would sign it, although he prefers civil unions to marriage.
Even if the bill is filed this session, it may find difficulty getting to a vote. In addition to opposition from Republicans and anumber of conservative Democrats, mainly from Bible belt states, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) seems in no rush to advance repeal.
At her weekly press conference last week, Pelosi suggested there may not be enough votes yet for repeal.
She touted House passage this month of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act. The legislation, which still needs Senate approval, would provide local police and sheriff’s departments with federal resources to combat hate violence.
Pelosi also said the House may take up repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell, the ban on gays serving openly in the military.
“Members will make a priority of issues like gays in the military. And where we have prospects of success, we always want to expand to a place of more opportunity and more freedom for all – for all Americans,” she said.
“But right now, our agenda is jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. And as we move on that front, concurrently, we have to make some decisions about what is possible.”
In a recent public opinion poll, voters showed narrow support maintaining DOMA – 50-44 percent.
The survey of 2,041 registered voters nationwide was taken by Quinnipiac University’s polling institute.
First off, the idea that we leave equal rights up the the majority scares the hell out of me. If the country was run that way, African Americans would still be slaves, the Chinese wouldn’t be able to have families here, and women wouldn’t be allowed to vote! So, why are we leaving GLBTQQIP rights up to the majority, or even doing polls to remind everyone that WE ARE A MINORITY, of COURSE the votes are going to be against us! Anyway, Obama has a lot of Gay supporters, and now that McCain has come out as a supporter of gay marriage, we have a bit of an edge on the Republicans that want to pass this crap. (And don’t worry, I hate Clinton from the bottom of my soul for even signing this bill in the first place.)
Zack, marriage has changed continually over the course of thousands of years. In Old Testament times, polygamy was the norm for anyone could afford it. The New Testament presents many different kinds of household, and when Jesus was told that his mother and brothers were outside to see him, he replied that his followers were his mother and sisters and brothers. In fact, same-sex wedding ceremonies were part of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic liturgies until the 1600s, and some are still practiced today. Even the Quran says that, in the afterlife, the righteous will be waited on by “beautiful women and almond-eyed boys.”
Modern-day prejudice against gay people and relationships isn’t basic to civilization or grounded in longstanding history. It’s a recent development that followed the realization of people like Sigmund Freud that a distinct group of people are attracted to members of their own sex. As people come to understand that gay people are nothing to be afraid of, those prejudices are crumbling. We’re returning to the greater tolerance of gay people that existed for most of human history.
Times are changing. That is, changing back.
Marriage between a man a woman for procreation is an institution favored by all recorded history. Messing with such a fundamental tenet of civilization is in no one’s best interest. In fact, history shows that a socity that does not reproduce itself substantially more than what the Western world currently does falls to outside hoardes (read islamics in our case). Divorce, abortion and gay marriage do not belong in a society that desires growth & freedom.
I am so glad to hear Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) has changed his mind and supports overturning DOMA. It will help make all American families equal and recognized.
In 1996 ( Not 1998 as Stated ) President Bill Clinton signed DOMA into Law on Air Force ONE. A couple months prior to the second term election. We were not sent to the Back of the Bus. We were Thrown UNDER the Bus for the second time in 3 years.
I have not let Pres. Bill Clinton off the hook for DOMA and DADT. Set us back +/- 20 years. Hope President Obama isn’t the latest politician that once in office, does weird political Math and ” Stabs Us ALL ” in the back contrary to prior sentiments. No more HOMO-cide please. Atleast none of us mistook ” George W ” as a friend and we progressed not expecting White House help ( ie: MA and courts ).
It is my prayer that Mr. Obama will show strong decisive leadership. DOMA just runs contrary to US Constitution. Same rational that overturned the remaining laws banning inter-racial marraiges in June 1967.
I’m afraid to keep Def Sec Gates and other dinosaurs happy, he may punk out and do more HOMO-cide.
An Great lesson in leadership, In 1948, President Harry Truman unequivically racially integrated ALL military branches. To this day, their are still some racists in the military, as elsewhere. We are still far stronger for Mr. Truman’s unequivical leadership. We will be way better off as a nation when DADT which runs contrary to the military honor (truth) code is history. Other modern militaries such as UK, Canada, Israel and others . . . have proven that DADT rational is a total myth. Will there be change pain ? Of course Everything involving growth can have growing pain.
Mark H. * Long Beach, CA
This is what confuses me about DOMA. It basically says that the federal government does not recognise any unions between same-sex partners. BUT…If you are a same-sex couple and you get married in a state where it is legal you are allowed (legally) to change your name if you take the last name of your partner. It’s right there on the marriage license application to check and fill in the blank if you are going to change your name.
So, once your marriage license is filed you can then go down and apply for a new social security card with your new married name on it, right? Because you are legally married. But, since the social security department is part of the federal government aren’t they in effect then recognising same-sex marriages every time they issue a new s.s card to a person that has married someone of the same gender and changed their name?
If they are going to recognize them just enough to issue them a new social security card than they have to recognise them in every other respect!
The people who marched in Selma, and who Bull Connor’s deputies knocked down with fire hoses in Birmingham, and the people who sat in at lunch counters like McClellans on 5th Av N in Nashville–those people achieved change, regardless of the millions of people who stayed home and stayed racist.
Congratulations to Sen. Harkin for his change of heart, but also the courage to come out and say it. His voice helps us that much more. Look at some of these people, like Nancy “I love Armani” Pelosi. Nice clothes, good on ya, but you’re making an effort to maintain a discriminatory status quo. She doesn’t matter as much as someone like Tom Harkin.
We have supporters. Who cares if we can’t get DOMA repealed in this session? It’s the refusal to even try which is insulting. There are those who oppose us and manage to do it with some honor, but there’s no honor in hedging your bets (read: political career and perks thereof) at the cost of somebody else’s equal rights.
Jobs indeed. They’re interested in THEIR jobs over anyone else’s. But it’s almost irrelevant to even think about these people. We identify our supporters and go from there. Most hardcore opponents will remain so, but like Obama, we can score some victories there. It’s the ones who pretend to support us who are our real threat. We need to hold them at arm’s length and keep our money out of their reach–politely, of course, because just as they won’t come out and say they’re not doin’ fuk-all for us, so we can bait them and remind them they don’t get any more money until we see some real action. Like paying the prostitute after you’re done.
As marriage equality expands to more states, the Federal government will have to repeal DOMA and follow the Constitution’s FULL FAITH & CREDIT clause honoring the state’s authority. If a male/female marriage in Massachusetts gets Federal rights and benefits, how can a legal male/male marriage continually treated differently.
“But right now, our agenda is jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs.” Unless she’s talking about gay service members. Then it’s “fire them, fire them, fire them, fire them, fire them.”
Pathetic.
Was this country built on the basis of the separation of church and state or am I dreaming. Is Obama expressing his faith or has he morphed his faith into his political opinions and now sees his opinion regarding marriage for gays as political, not faith based? How soon he forgets the promises he made to us during his campaign. Maybe we should do some forgetting next elections.
I hope our brothers and sisters in San Francisco do some thinking before they make the decision regarding sending Pelosi back to congress.
We have a lot of education to do before we can get rid of DOMA. Getting rid of DADT is a necessary step in that direction as it actively teaches prejudice and discrimination. If we teach tolerance and acceptance instead, that will help us move toward support for repeal of DOMA. Contact Obama and those who are supposed to represent you and push them to repeal DADT as well as DOMA. They are hearing from those who oppose equality, so make sure they hear from you as well.
Funny, I thought the #1 job of every person in Congress was “Support and Defend the Constitution of the United States of America”?
When many of those same members were part and parcel to the travesty that is DOMA originally, which clearly VIOLATES the Constitution – Full Faith & Credit and Equal Protection clauses – then they have an obligation to FIX IT.
The economy and jobs are both important issues, I think everyone agrees, but isn’t Congress capable of concentrating on more than one issue at a time? They regularly deliberate on more than one bill as a matter of ordinary business practices, don’t they?
It’s time to %@^# or get off the pot folks. You either believe in equality, or you don’t. You either support the Constitution COMPLETELY or you don’t. You may piss off the religious nuts, but oh well. You’ll be doing your jobs and upholding the LAW. That’s what you are there for.
Jobs? How about wedding planners, caterers, florists, cake bakers, dress/suit makers & designers, Justices of the Peace, banquet hall operators, restaurant owners, musicians, disc jockeys, wedding bands, jewelers…last I heard, there are a lot of people who get paid employment as part of a wedding. Imagine how that industry (in all its incarnations from supreme tackiness to complete elegance) would grow and create more jobs if marriage equality became the norm.
On another front, Mr. Obama prefers Civil Unions. So why didn’t he & his lovely wife get one of those instead? Oh, right, he prefers them for…US… because, of course, equality is guaranteed by the constituion, but really it isn’t. Because our leaders prefer other options to suit their own beliefs and political needs.
Still relegated to the back of the bus for us-thanks, Nance and Obama- STRANGE HOW ALL THESE STRAIT PEOPLE AFFECT OUR GAY DESTINIES– keep the pressure on brothers and sisters !!
“But right now, our agenda is jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs.” No it’s not. Or she would be taking serious measures to ensure products on US shelves are made in the US, and services provided to US residents are performed by US residents. Self-sufficiency is a sign of adulthood. But as it is, the only jobs she seems interested in are the lawyers and judges who are going to have to decide DOMA and other cases.