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Loading ...Will Obama flip flop on gay marriage?
05.20.2009 10:42am EDT
(Boston, Massachusetts) Fears are mounting that the Obama administration is about to flip-flop on its opposition to the Federal Defense of Marriage Act.
Last March, a federal lawsuit was filed in Boston challenging the law which bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage. The Justice Department has until June 22 to respond to the lawsuit. So far there has been no comment from either the department or the White House.The Department of Justice typically defends laws passed by Congress. But during the election campaign, then-candidate Obama pledged to overturn the ban.
A grassroots online campaign called Equal Rep has begun to pressure the administration to keep his campaign promise by asking Attorney General Eric Holder “not to defend this unconstitutional law.” 365gay blogger Emma Ruby-Sachs helped craft the legal memo to Obama, which states in part, “The President reserves the right to refuse to defend an unconstitutional statute. Section 3 of the DOMA is clearly unconstitutional in that it denies married same-sex couples economic benefits granted to heterosexual married couples from the same state without providing a rational basis for this discrimination. ”
The Web site includes a cut-out mailer urging the president not to flip flop on the issue.
Support is slowly growing in Congress for repeal of the 1998 law, but a bill has yet to be filed in either the House or the Senate. In the meantime, the lawsuit challenging DOMA appears likely to proceed.
The lawsuit was filed by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, the group that brought a successful legal challenge leading to Massachusetts becoming the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage in 2004. GLAD brought a similar successful suit in Connecticut.
GLAD represents eight married couples and three surviving spouses from Massachusetts who have been denied federal legal protections available to spouses. The lawsuit alleges that the act discriminates against gay couples and is unconstitutional because it denies them access to federal benefits that other married couples receive, such as pensions and health insurance.
Among the plaintiffs is Dean Hara, the widower of former U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay member of the House of Representatives.
Another plaintiff is Mary Ritchie, a Massachusetts State Police trooper who has been married for almost five years and has two children. But when she files her federal income tax return, she’s not allowed to check the “married filing jointly” box as a result of DOMA.
In Ritchie’s case, she and her spouse say they have paid nearly $15,000 more in taxes than they would have if they had been able to file joint returns.
The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, was enacted by Congress in 1996 when it appeared Hawaii would soon legalize same-sex marriage and opponents worried that other states would be forced to recognize such marriages.
The GLAD lawsuit challenges only the portion of the law that prevents the federal government from affording Social Security and other benefits to same-sex couples.
Among those in Congress calling for repeal of the act is Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), one of the original supporters of the measure. Harkin said earlier this month that 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.”
Even if the bill is filed this session, it may find difficulty getting to a vote. In addition to opposition from Republicans and number of conservative Democrats, mainly from Bible belt states Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) seems in no rush to advance repeal.
This month Pelosi suggested there may not be enough votes yet for repeal.
In a recent Quinnipiac University public opinion poll, voters showed narrow support maintaining DOMA – 50-44 percent.
Change you can believe in?
Change you can believe won’t happen.
Gee,with Pelosi and Obama both looking out for me,I suppose I can look forward to equality any second now……..LMAO
Someday, someone will explain to me why the GLBT community has been so negative about a President who has been more supportive of us than any in history. I firmly believe that Mr. Obama will work to keep his campaign promises. He may do it more slowly than we like in order to build a political consensus. But he’ll do it.
Of course Obama will flip-flop. He has done NOTHING for the gay community. he has done nothing to apply the US Constitution in guaranteeing that the EQUAL protection clause of the US Constitution is applied to the civil rights of Gay Americans.
In fact Obama has done more damage to the Gay community by his cowardly actions on Dont Ask Dont Tell.
I fo one have been dissaponmited in putting my vote and faith in a Democratic politician and WHAt have they done fo us?
I urge every gay American to withhold voting for ANY Democratic politician UNTIL the Democratic party does something to provide equal civil rights to Gay Americans. I am not suggesting we vote for republicans, so we should just not vote, nor support any of the policies of Obama or his party until they start acting on our behalf.
I put my faith in Bill Clinton and what did he do: he implementd Dont Ask Dont Tell ad the Defense of Marriage Act, all th while saying what a fiend they were to the Gay community. Obama did the same. I wont be fooled again.
their redemption only comes from what they do for us in the future. And that goes for Gay friendlt politicians like Barbabar Boxer and Dianefienstein. They need to get off their high horses and DO SOMETHING for providing Gay Americans their EQUAL civil rights.
Dont be their fools any longer.
And for anyone who tells me that Obama has a lot on his plate, well I say, he has over 20 million Gay Americans who dont even have their basic civil rights provided to them. No other American minority is in the position of the Gay citizen in America. I hope you are as fed up as I am.
@Mark:
Lt. Dan Choi, Lt. Sandy Tsao, and Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, all three victims of DADT amongst many others, ask them for an explanation.
I don’t know who’s going to fuck this up more, Obama, who is giving and has given me ulcers or Ruby-Sachs. Way to plug your own in. Obama has not been more supportive of us than any other president. He wasn’t supportive before his faux election or now, after. Getting thrown scraps when you’re a big girl at the table is not support. Tying a fat man up in front of a pizza is not support. We’ve all been used by this man and he continues to make tools out of all of the brainwashed followers. From the military, to the marriage to rolling eggs between Michelle’s legs at Easter on the lawn. He has used gay people as a pawn and will keep doing so as long as there are mindless fools in our community that follow him.
We’re not even 6 months into his term in office, so I’m (for now) giving him the benefit of the doubt; however, if he fails to keep the promises he made to the GLBT community during his 2008 campaign, I’m voting for another candidate in 2012.
First of all, virtually NO traction on repealing DADT – just lip service. Literally, noting beyond “we had general conversations about”…
Now, DOMA. If Obama reverse course on this – he can kiss any re-election vote from me goodbye. I wouldn’t care if he passed every other single piece of GLBT related legislation out there (and considering his approach thus far, there is 0% chance of that happening).
IF Obama thinks that he can take the GLBT vote for granted – he’d better start thinking again.
GREAT to see the campaign, ‘make the big time.’ Now for the MSM!
There are a quite a lot of GLBT people who are negative about the president, despite his suggested supportiveness of our community. Many of those negative Nancys were negative before the election as well.
We need to give him a chance to work through our concerns and give him as much support for all his projects to demonstrate that we are not ONLY focused on ourselves. Yes, we are downtrodden; Yes we are prosecuted; Yes the American anti-homosexual attitude should change. We must ALSO push for economic change, and health care reform and education reform, etc. We can show support while offering constructive criticism.
@Menstruator: TRUER WORDS HAVE NEVER BEEN SPOKEN!!! Go girl, Go!! When will our community finally wake up and pull its head out of its ass and realize that we are nothing but pawns to be used when it is convenient and when it is not convenient we will look around the room and find it is empty except for us idiot fags and dikes – ONCE AGAIN.
Jonathan, I gotta agree with your overall tone. I will still criticize Obama, but I think the man will get some very constructive things done. Obama’s skin makes him a rank hypocrite, but please let me take this opportunity to remind everybody that Lynn Cheney reacted with a mix of shock and disgust when she was asked about her self-hating dyke daughter. Everybody who cares to know is aware that Mary Cheney is gay, but there’s her mother claiming that such a question is unacceptable. Of the anti-Obama crowd here, please explain to me how the gay-baiting of Bush/Cheney was somehow mitigated by their treatment of gay staffers. Explain how it’s OK to not only make your lesbian daughter invisible whenever politically expedient to do so, but brainwash her to the point that she’s complicit in the game.
Notice that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been very quiet of late. Don’t be surprised if she runs in 2012, because she’s surely smart enough to see that Obama’s effort to marginalize gays as a Democratic constituency gives her an opening.
DOMA will disappear. DADT will disappear. There’s when, not if. No, I don’t believe in my gut that Obama has the balls to lead the push for removing either one, and that’s what we’re asking him for. He has caved to opponents on some basic stuff, but he’ll likely be measured on whether or not we’re collectively better off and more prosperous in 2012 than we were in 2008.
He has had my support on all of his initiatives. I’ve followed all of his plans for the budget crisis religiously and have done nothing but talk them up to those around me who doubt them. The GLBT community helped, probably with a very high percentage, to elect him. I think that’s all support enough. It’s really time for him to start supporting us.
In 1996, 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.
A 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. 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
Other than appointing token queers to mid-level positions, I don’t see anything that Obama has done that McCain or Bush wouldn’t also have done. And that’s not just on our issues, but on a whole raft of issues. As far as I can tell, the Bush presidency never ended.