Today on Capitol Hill, the Senate Judiciary Committee met to discuss repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. This awful piece of legislation, which defines marriage as between a man and woman and excludes federal recognition of marriage equality for gays and lesbians, was enacted back in 1996 during an election year. (Senator Al Franken (above) had some sharp questions for the Focus On The Family hate group which are up on Towleroad.) DOMA's constitutionality has been in question since then and now, finally, the Senate may be poised to act after a boost from the White House.
In a remarkable statement that seems to have gotten lost in all the debate over the debt crisis, the Obama Administration came out yesterday in support of repeal of the law. The President himself said that DOMA was unconstitutional last month, after the passage of NY's gay marriage law. But he has been wary of making actual political moves on the federal angle of marriage equality. But with yesterday's announcement, the President says he will now push like he did with the gays in the military to right a longstanding wrong.
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