'Respect for Marriage Act' Introduced to Repeal DOMA

(image via HRC)

UPDATED

U.S. Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) Jared Polis (D-CO), along with John Lewis (D-GA) and Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) today introduced the 'Respect for Marriage Act', a measure that would repeal the 'Defense of Marriage Act' (DOMA). I'll be posting more details on the press conference as updates to this post as they come in.

Video clips, AFTER THE JUMP...

According to the Human Rights Campaign, the Respect for Marriage Act "would restore the rights of all lawfully married couples — including same-sex couples — to receive the benefits of marriage under federal law. The bill also provides same-sex couples with certainty that federal benefits and protections would flow from a valid marriage celebrated in a state where such marriages are legal, even if a couple moves or travels to another state...rights like Social Security survivors’ benefits, medical leave to care for an ailing spouse and equal treatment under U.S. immigration laws."

The bill has 91 co-sponsors (list here).

Bill Clinton, who signed DOMA into law in 1996, thanked the bill's  sponsors in a statement read by Nadler, The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld reports. Said Clinton in the statement: "Throughout my life I have opposed discrimination of any kind. When the Defense of Marriage Act was passed, gay couples could not marry anywhere in the United States or the world for that matter. Thirteen years later, the fabric of our country has changed, and so should this policy."

Lambda Legal called for the bill's swift passage. Said Executive Director Kevin Cathcart: "When DOMA passed in 1996 it was a gratuitous slap in the face. But now, 13 years later, there are thousands of married same-sex couples who are hurt by this law. We've come a long way in 13 years and the federal government shouldn't be in the business of deciding that some married couples are worthy of federal respect and others are not. Married same-sex couples pay federal taxes just like everyone else and have a right to the same respect, important benefits and protections as everyone else."

Said National Gay & Lesbian Task Force executive director Rea Carey: "We thank Reps. Nadler, Baldwin, Polis, Lewis and Velazquez for introducing this bill to dismantle one of the most discriminatory and far-reaching laws to emerge against our community: the so-called 'Defense of Marriage Act.' ... DOMA is and has always been an immoral attack on same-sex couples, our families and our fundamental humanity. This hateful law has only served to discriminate against people and belittle our country's heralded values of freedom, fairness and justice. It is long past time to repeal DOMA, which has left a moral scar on this country. Today marks an important step toward closing an ugly chapter in our nation's history, and for working to ensure same-sex couples and our families are treated fairly. Too many families have been hurt for far too long because of DOMA."

Rep. Barney Frank, the third openly gay member of Congress, said last week he was not putting his support behind the bill because he doesn't feel it has the votes to pass in the near term, suggesting that lawsuits currently underway challenging DOMA have a better chance of getting the law overturned.

Nadler was unfazed by Frank's assertions: "Mr. Frank knows better than anyone that our opponents will falsely claim that any DOMA repeal bill 'exports marriage' in an effort to generate fear and misunderstanding. But the dishonest tactics of our opponents should not stop us from aggressively pushing to end this horrific discrimination now. Our bill does not tell any state who it must marry or what marriage it must recognize under state law.

Videos of David Wilson, a member of HRC’s Board of Directors and a plaintiff in the Goodridge case, HRC President Joe Solmonese, Dawn BarbouRoske and Jen BarbouRoske, and Congressman Jared Polis, AFTER THE JUMP...

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) to Introduce DOMA Repeal Bill Tuesday

I mentioned this briefly yesterday, but the Washington Blade has more details:

"Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) intends Tuesday to submit legislation that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and answer questions at a Capitol Hill press conference. The event is set for 11 a.m. at the House Triangle, near the southern steps of the Capitol Building. Nadler first told the Bay Area Reporter that he intended to introduce a repeal bill and that the legislation would only affect same-sex marriages — not civil unions or domestic partnerships...Gay Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.) will co-sponsor the legislation, but Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) hasn't signed on in support."

Frank told the Blade he doesn't feel the bill can pass in the near term: "I think getting [the Employment Non-Discrimination Act], a repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' and full domestic partner benefits for federal employees will take up all of what we can do and maybe more in this Congress."

Frank also said he feels that lawsuits currently underway challenging DOMA have a better chance of having it overturned than legislation.

Nadler: DOMA Repeal Would Skip Domestic Partnerships, Civil Unions

Congressman Jerry Nadler plans to introduce legislation to repeal DOMA this week or once Congress returns from August recess, according to the Bay Area Reporter, but the legislation will not concern civil unions or domestic partnerships:

"Under DOMA's Section 3 the federal government is forbidden from recognizing LGBT couples married in the six states where same-sex marriage is legal. Section 2 of the law says those states that outlaw same-sex marriages do not have to recognize legal same-sex marriages from other states. Nadler said his bill would repeal both sections of DOMA. 'We have got to repeal DOMA and have got to make sure it accomplishes for federal purposes allowing the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages,' said Nadler, who led the fight to defeat a Federal Marriage Amendment that would have enshrined the same-sex marriage ban in the U.S. Constitution. 'The time for dumping DOMA is long overdue.' HRC President Joe Solmonese said it makes sense to restrict the debate over repealing DOMA only to recognition of same-sex marriage. 'We ought to start it with what we would ultimately achieve, a wholesale overturning of DOMA,' he said. Nadler said that including domestic partnerships or civil unions in his legislation 'gets very complicated' because the laws governing such legally recognized relationships are "different in every state." Also, he said it would cloud the legislation's end goal, which is ensuring all Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation, have the right to marry."

Congressman behind DOMA repeal nixes federal rights for DPs, civil unions [bay area reporter]

Group Petitions to Expand 1964 Civil Rights Act to Include LGBT

Updated

This morning, a press conference was held outside New York's historic Stonewall Inn by grassroots online group The Power announcing its LGBT Civil Rights campaign for full equality. At the presser, the group  presented U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler with a signed petition for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to expand the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include LBGT status. 

I'll post video when it's available.

Updated: Statements by prominent leaders, AFTER THE JUMP...

 The group writes: "As President Obama prepares to host a cocktail reception at the White House for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender leaders, prominent activists and fundraisers return to the Stonewall Inn on the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots to announce a new comprehensive LGBT civil rights agenda.  At that time they will also present U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler with signed petitions from all 50 states and 36 countries supporting expansion of the Civil Rights Act to include LGBT people, marking the official launch of The Power’s nationwide petition drive and campaign demanding full equality now."

The petition will be accompanied by statements of support from prominent lawmakers and LGBT leaders. A list, is AFTER THE JUMP...

Senate Committee to Hold Hearings on Gay Immigration Bill Tomorrow

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings beginning at 10am tomorrow on the Uniting American Families Act, which seeks to eliminate discrimination in the immigration laws by permitting permanent partners of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the same manner as spouses of citizens and lawful permanent residents:

Immigration Equality: "Wednesday’s hearing will feature Shirley Tan, a Filipina mother of 12-year-old twins from Pacifica, Calif., who is facing deportation despite having been with her partner for 23 years. Though Tan’s children and partner are American citizens, she cannot be sponsored for residency because her partner is female. Unless Congress takes action to pass UAFA, Tan will be forced to return to the Philippines. Joining Tan as a witness will also be Gordon Stewart, a native of Vermont who was forced to sell his family’s farm and relocate to London to be with his partner, who is Brazilian. Stewart, who transferred his job with Pfizer Pharmaceuticals to the United Kingdom, has been welcomed in that country, where his partner received a visa to be with him. Under U.S. immigration law, his partner was unable to join him in the United States, and Stewart was forced to leave his family behind to be with the person he loves. Other witnesses include Julian Bond, chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and attorney Christopher Nugent, who will represent the American Bar Association (ABA)."

I've reposted our January interview with Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the chief author of the UAFA, AFTER THE JUMP...

Lesbian Mother Handcuffed, Torn from Two Sons, Partner of 23 Years

Why? Because the U.S. Government does not see LGBT people as equal citizens:

"If Jay Mercado, [Shirley] Tan's partner of 23 years and the mother of her sons, were a different gender, it's highly unlikely that [authorities] ever would have come. As a U.S. citizen, Mercado could have sponsored a wedded spouse for legal permanent residency. But although Mercado and Tan (above) married in San Francisco in 2004, federal law limits the definition of marriage to a man and a woman, and same-sex partners of U.S. citizens don't have a route to legal permanent residence extended to straight married couples...Mercado and Tan, who first appealed for political asylum for Tan in 1995 and thought their case was still pending, said they were completely unaware a deportation order had been issued in 2002. If Tan is deported this week, they will have to decide between separating two sons from one of their mothers, or moving the family to a country they have never known."

Thankfully, Congressmen like Jerrold Nadler and John Kerry are trying to help get rid of this injustice.

Binational, same-sex couples face immigration problems [san jose mercury news]