Breaking President Obama Endorses DOMA Repeal

July 19, 2011, Melanie Nathan,

Today White House Press Secretary Jay Carney announced the President will endorse the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA, (The Defense of Marriage Act, which discriminates against same-sex marriage) !  The White House endorsing legislation that has yet to pass either house of Congress — is extremely rare, and marks the urgency with which the President wants to see DOMA erased forever.

Tomorrow is the first-ever Congressional hearing on whether to repeal DOMA. This morning a press conference was held  with Sen. Feinstein to highlight the stories of same-sex couples who are punished even though they broke no law.

Below is a statement from Evan Wolfson, founder and President of Freedom to Marry, on President Obama’s announcement of support for the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill sponsored by Senator Feinstein (D-CA) and Representative Nadler (D-NY) to repeal the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act”:

“Freedom to Marry applauds President Obama’s strong endorsement of the Respect for Marriage Act and the repeal of so-called ‘DOMA.’ The federal government should not be picking and choosing which marriages it will honor and which it will disregard when it comes to the important federal protections that come with marriage, such as Social Security, health coverage, fair tax treatment, and immigration rights. Congress should follow the President’s lead and return the federal government to its traditional practice of honoring all lawful marriages equally – without the ‘gay exception’ of DOMA.”

Story-telling, and media must flourish so that Americans will learn that denying LGBT people their basic rights is indeed not an American value – American values must obliterate tradition – that which is bigoted.

Please do your part to support the repeal of DOMA by telling your stories, speaking to your representatives and supporting the courageous activists and worthy organizations at the helm of the fight.

An aside….. My Predictions at Bay Area reporter January 06, 2011

“I think Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) is going to get outed.

I am going to make the bold prediction President Obama is going to swing from civil unions to thinking that gay marriage is the right thing to do.

Melanie Nathan.

Here is a list of  groups and projects to support which I believe will do a great job of pursuing or impacting  the repeal of DOMA:-

NCLR

GAY USA the Movie

EQCA

MEUSA

I think Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) is going to get outed.

I am going to make the bold prediction President Obama is going to swing from civil unions to thinking that gay marriage is the right thing to do.

Melanie Nathan, Lez Get Real co-publisher and editor