Democrats in both the House & Senate have mounted anattack on the Defense of Marriage Act armed with a new
poll showing that most Americans are behind them. The
legislative move came after a interest-group-sponsored poll
was released showing that 51 % of voters oppose DOMA &
just 34 % favor it. The poll, a collaboration of the Human
Rights Campaign (HRC) & Greenberg Quinlan Rosner
Research also showed that 54 % oppose an effort by House
Republicans to defend the law from various legal challenges;
only 32 % support it.
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis), stated
“The administration’s decision not to defend DOMA
intensifies the urgent need to repeal this discriminatory law.
All legally married couples should have the same federal
rights, obligations & recognition, regardless of their sexual
orientation. Anything less than full equality is most likely
unconstitutional & most certainly un-American.”
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Those of us who have been fighting the battle to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act since it became law, have long known that we have fairness and justice on our side. Now, after years of educating and agitating, it is heartening to know that we have, also, the American public on our side. The recently released HRC-sponsored poll shows that Americans oppose DOMA 50-34. And even more voters, 54 percent, oppose the House Republican move to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court. Repealing DOMA is important symbolically and substantively. Now that we have repealed ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ the Defense of Marriage Act remains the only example of overt discrimination against gays and lesbians written into our federal statutes. When the laws of our nation declare us, somehow, ‘less than,’ it sends a message that we are, somehow, ‘less than;’ and we are not. But substantively, DOMA harms real Americans. It harms children and their loving parents. It harms elderly life-long partners. And it harms widows and widowers. Fourteen years ago, an openly gay Wisconsin Republican asked the GAO to count all of the rights and responsibilities that the federal government confers based on marriage. Former Congresswoman Steve Gunderson learned that over a thousand rights and responsibilities were conferred based on marriage. Today, that number is even higher. All I am trying to say is that repeal of DOMA matters; and it is the best of family values.
ReplyDeleteCongresswoman Tammy Baldwin Co-Chair The Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus