Senator Dianne Feinstein (D) won a 10-8 party-line vote for passage through the Senate Judiciary Committee taking her Respect for Marriage Act bill to repeal DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) one step closer to victory in what she refers to as the "big march". The bill is now to face opposing Republicans who have said that DOMA "is not about discrimation against anyone."
WAIT A MINUTE TIME OUT: you mean defining a word and using that to withhold the rights from a group of tax paying American's for no other reason than feeling heterosexuality is superior to homosexuality based on YOUR religious beliefs as a fundamentalist Christian, all while denying that other denominations of Christianity such as Presbyterian, don't believe in discriminating against LGBT community isn't discrimination? PLEASE THEN TELL ME HOW YOU FUNDAMENTALIST AND BIGOTS DEFINE DISCRIMINATION? LETS NOT FORGET THAT WE THE PEOPLE also ENACTED SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE.
Back to the repeal...
Early this year President Obama and the Justice Department declared DOMA as unconstitutional and they will not defend. Obama later going to an HRC dinner where he encouraged all American's to fight DOMA and Discrimination against LGBT and all others. See
for that video.
In case you are not on the up-and-up. DOMA or Defense of Marriage Act is a law created in 1996 that defines Marriage as between one man and one woman (because that's what the bible says, yet the bible also says that to remarry, ones spouse or ex spouse must die and then you may remarry... their next available sibling only. Oh and lets not forget Separation of Church and State). This definition excludes LGBT people from the rights to marry as well as other federal benefits that include Immigration, Social Security, Tax, and 1100+ rights/federal preferences associated with marriage.
Reading an article by Carolyn Lochhead, Chronical Washington Bureau
@www.SFGate.com, Feinstein was quoted saying...
"Some bills go fast, some go slow," Feinstein said of her repeal measure. "What's important to me is the march." Feinstein said she expects the Supreme Court to weigh in as well. Her bill, the Respect for Marriage Act, offers a parallel legislative effort.
"Whether it comes up this year, next year, the year after, the year after that, we are ready," Feinstein said.
Also...
Today HRC released a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee members from a bipartisan group of governors and mayors in marriage equality states calling for repeal of the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The letter was sent the day before the committee is expected to markup the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) – the bill to repeal DOMA and end federal marriage discrimination.
Signatories to the letter include: Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York; Gov. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island; Gov. Dannel Malloy of Connecticut; Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland; Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts; Gov.Peter Shumlin of Vermont; Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York, NY; Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. of New Haven, CT; Mayor Bill Finch of Bridgeport, CT; Mayor Vincent C. Grayof Washington, DC; Mayor Edwin Lee of San Francisco, CA; Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston, MA; Mayor Jerry Sanders of San Diego, CA; Mayor Pedro E. Segarra of Hartford, CT; and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, CA. California Gov. Jerry Brown – whose state recognizes a limited amount of same-sex couples married before the passage of Prop 8 – submitted a separate letter to the committee in support of the RMA.
As the Governors and Mayors write in the letter, “[t]he federal government should not be in the business of picking which marriages it likes and which it does not, but that is exactly what DOMA does. We urge you to pass the Respect for Marriage Act and ensure that all families are afforded equal protections and equal dignity.”
As part of the Americans for Marriage Equality campaign, the Human Rights Campaign has been executing a multi-pronged strategy to win a successful committee vote on the RMA including lobbying members and working with our allies to prepare for attacks against the bill. In addition to the letter, HRC today delivered 135,000 petition signatures to Senate offices showing the groundswell of public support for repeal of DOMA. 51 percent of voters oppose DOMA while only 34 percent favor it, according to a March 2011 poll by HRC and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research.
So what do I think?
I think that when DOMA was enacted (1996), it was done in ignorance. Gay wasn't an openly talked about subject then, the way it is now. Since so many have been educated away from the stereotypes that intolerance poisons our society with, the acceptance of Gay marriage has grown to Majority of The People, that's right the majority of AMERICANS are in favor of Gay marriage. (See previous blog postings for that information).
I also find it interesting when the idea of repealing DOMA was brought forth. Both President Clinton (who enacted the bill) and its Author both said that it has done nothing and will continue to do nothing for this country (I'm paraphrasing that, basically they are in favor of the repeal).
I also think that a group of LGBT American's should sue the government for not abiding by separation of Church and State, using DOMA as proof. Because if they want to bring the dictionary into what marriage is defined as, its not just between a man and a woman. So where did they get their definition. Also for those whose religion is not what this law was found on, how is the non-separation of church and state not effecting their Constitutional Right (1st Amendment) to freedom of religion. What if a religion believes gay marriage is okay? You're going to step on their toes as well.
Look, this country is ran by those close-minded, intolerant son's of bitches who would rather avoid bruising their ego than allowing LGBT community the same rights as everyone else. Wait, our country isn't doing so well financially is it? Isn't it run by these "all knowing" fundamentalist Republican's (not all Republican's the fundamentalist ones). I also find it hilarious that Fundamentalists believe that they should be the only American's entitled to the 1st Amendment rights ensured by our Constitution.
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