Gay Rights

DOMA Fight Seen As Turning Point in Politics of Gay Rights

Benjy Sarlin | March 17, 2011, 10:27AM

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)

In what is perhaps a watershed moment in the long fight for gay rights, the current battle over the Defense of Marriage Act is being waged with at least tacit acknowledgment from all sides that it is a political winner for pro-gay-rights Democrats.

In the wake of President Obama's decision to drop support for portions of the Defense of Marriage Act, gay rights advocates have been unabashed in claiming that beyond the merits of their underlying argument they now have the political advantage as well. Not only does public opinion polling suggest they're right, but the reaction of gay rights opponents does, too.

On Wednesday, House and Senate Democrats held separate press conferences announcing the introduction of legislation to repeal DOMA. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), one of the sponsors of the House bill, was asked whether Democrats were politicizing gay rights as a wedge issue against the GOP, as Majority Leader Eric Cantor alleged last month.

"What do I say to the idea that this is a wedge issue? I say 'Hallelujah,'" Frank told reporters. "The fact that we've now evolved to the point where the Republicans are complaining about the fact that we introduced this bill because it causes them political problems is a great sign of progress. It used to be the other way around."

Read more »

Defense of Marriage Act

Huckabee Slams Obama On DOMA, Implies Link Between Gay Marriage And Broken Homes

Brian Beutler | February 23, 2011, 4:47PM

Fmr. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R)

Likely Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee mauled President Obama's decision to halt the Justice Department's legal defenses of DOMA at a roundtable lunch with reporters on Wednesday. In defense of his position, he claimed a public mandate for the controversial Clinton-era law, and linked same sex marriage to the failure of heterosexual marriages.

"I'm deeply disappointed," Huckabee said. "They are clearly out of sync with the public."

Huckabee noted that 33 states have affirmed, via ballot initiatives, that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

Read more »

112th Congress

Dem Rep. Polis: WH DOMA Decision Should Remove Marriage As Federal Issue

Benjy Sarlin | February 23, 2011, 3:59PM

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO)

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), one of the House's leading gay rights advocates, told TPM that he was "thrilled" by the White House's decision to drop its legal support for the Defense of Marriage Act.

"It's a big deal," he said over the phone. "I'm just thrilled they came to this conclusion sooner rather than later. I think that any sound legal analysis will come to the same conclusion and any defense of this law is a break with precedent, with tradition, and an overreach of power by the federal government."

Read more »

Barney Frank

Barney Frank: White House Move On DOMA Is A Political Winner

Benjy Sarlin | February 23, 2011, 1:40PM

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) couldn't be more excited to see the White House come around on the Defense of Marriage Act, which he said was the right move legally and politically.

"It's great news," Frank, who is openly gay, told TPM over the phone. "Particularly after DADT repeal, this is a further expression of his commitment to doing away with discrimination."

The Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that it would no longer defend parts of DOMA that restrict the federal government from recognizing gay marriages in states where such unions are legal.

Frank said he recommended to White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley in a meeting last week that the Administration drop its support for DOMA.

Read more »

Defense of Marriage Act

Boehner Spox: It's Not The Appropriate Time To Nix DOMA Defense

Brian Beutler | February 23, 2011, 1:39PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

House Speaker John Boehner's spokesman Michael Steel questions the Obama administration's decision to halt its legal defense of DOMA.

"While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending, the President will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversial issue that sharply divides the nation," he said in a statement.

In a letter to Boehner, Attorney General Eric Holder wrote "[o]ur attorneys will also notify the courts of our interest in providing Congress a full and fair opportunity to participate in the litigation in those [DOMA] cases." Boehner could, in theory, intervene as a third party defendant in those cases, or could sue Holder, or could just make a fuss that amounts to nothing. But there's no indication yet of what he will actually do..

Read more »

Bryan Fischer

AFA: DOMA Decision a "Wake-Up Call" for Conservatives

Benjy Sarlin | February 23, 2011, 1:09PM

The American Family Association, which led an effort to boycott the conservative gathering CPAC this month over its inclusion of groups backing gay rights, is hoping the White House's decision to back off its legal support for the Defense of Marriage Act will help bolster momentum for social issues in the GOP.

"I think it's a clear sign that we simply cannot avoid engaging on the social issues," Bryan Fischer, director of issue analysis for the group, told TPM. "Mitch Daniels has called for a truce on social issues and that would be fine if the homosexual lobby was willing to lay down arms, but they're obviously not and this proves it. A truce is nothing more than a surrender."

Read more »

Gay Rights

Obama: DOMA Should Be Repealed, Lawyers Looking At 'Range Of Options'

Rachel Slajda | December 22, 2010, 11:10AM

President Obama signs a bill repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

President Obama, although he still supports civil unions over same-sex marriage, said yesterday that he believes the Defense of Marriage Act should be repealed.

"Repealing DOMA, getting ENDA [a bill to protect LGBT people from discrimination] done, those are things that should be done," Obama told The Advocate the night before signing Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal into law. "I think those are natural next steps legislatively. I'll be frank with you, I think that's not going to get done in two years. We're on a three- or four-year time frame unless there's a real transformation of attitudes within the Republican caucus."

The federal Defense of Marriage Act, which was passed in 1996, defines marriage as strictly heterosexual. It's currently facing multiple legal challenges, including two cases from Massachusetts in which a federal judge already ruled that part of the law is unconstitutional. Obama's Justice Department is defending DOMA.

Read more »