Melanie Nathan and Senator Patrick Leahy 2009

    This is what we need to see more of – We should urge all those who voted for DOMA to now co-sponsor its repeal under the new Respect for Marriage Act introduced this week by Rep. Jerrold Nadler.  

Proudly changing my position on DOMA (Rep. Earl Blumenauer  By Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) – 09/16/09 10:22 AM ET – referenced from  The Huffington Post and The Hill Blogs.   “On July 12, 1996, I cast the worst vote of my political career. Having served in public office since 1973, that says something. While I’ve made other mistakes, this was different: it was a deliberate vote that I knew to be poor public policy and was against my values. I’ve been a strong champion of civil rights and protections based on sexual orientation since I chaired the first legislative hearing on anti-discrimination legislation in 1973. Even worse, this vote was cast after careful consideration.”

He goes on —–
“It should have been obvious to me that we would not be able to quell this assault based on sexual orientation. Far from stopping it, this vote fed the bigotry. Once Congress had put its imprimatur on DOMA, it was a logical step for the homophobes and political cynics to intensify their efforts and make permanent a ban on gay marriage in both the U.S. and state constitutions — spawning many state initiatives and intensifying the assault.”   …..     

Earl Blumenauer

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/civil-rights/58977-proudly-changing-my-position-on-doma-rep-earl-blumenauer

Please read the entire post its a worthy read – then look up the vote of your RE P on DOMA and send them a copy or link to this Post – and ask them to Cosponsor Nadler’s RFA – asap – as a matter of correction and redemption.   If your Rep voted NO on DOMA – ask them to ensure their support for RFA.

List of commentary on his issue:

Changing Their Tune On DOMA

 http://advocate.com/Politics/Washington_D_C_/Changing_Their_Tune_on_DOMA/      By Kerry Eleveld

““When the Defense of Marriage Act was passed, gay couples could not marry anywhere in the United States or the world for that matter,” Clinton said in a statement. “Thirteen years later, the fabric of our country has changed, and so should this policy.”

Barr, who was a member of the House at the time, joined Clinton, saying, “This legislation would strengthen the principle that each state is free to set the definition of marriage the citizens of that state have adopted.”  

Melanie Nathan

  My own comments to other blog comments on this issue:-

Barney Frank has made a big mistake on this one; it is important that REPEAL of DOMA is tackled in every way possible. This is a MUST DO Bill. There is nothing more onerous to civil rights than a piece of legislation that specifically excludes  members of our society- so Barney get off your strategy crap and embrace this legislation – NOW.  The question this begs “what is the point of State autonomy on marriage if the Federal government fails to recognize it?

What stops us from the fight?  I don’t give a farthing about the numbers in Congress – now or then or then or now…. How could anyone think that not standing up for or introducing a Correction BILL such as Nadler’s RFA is negative to the cause.  It is severely a MUST DO!!  What fight was ever won without taking the ultimate risks, least of all on civil rights issues.  I believe Barney may be right that the Courts will ditch DOMA long before RFA passes.  But unlike Barney, strategically I think RFA is a must do nonetheless.  It’s mere introduction emphasizes the fight and provides legitimacy to the fight by endorsing the fact that equality on a federal level is a civil rights issue.