In Defense of Marriage

Posted by Tigritza

Voicemail from Tasha on Feb 23, 2011:

"Hey baby - I know you're busy at work but - um... *ahem* I've been reading the articles and thinking about...DOMA and I'm just...so so happy. *laughs* I don't know, this is like... HUGE, huge news that we've been waiting for, and... it's like the next STEP, that really needed to happen, and I know it's not completely repealed but... it IS, essentially like the next... you know? I don't know... anyway. I'm just happy. So... I love you. Talk to you soon. Bye honey."

Not to be dramatic, but I must begin by saying that February 23, 2011 started out as just an ordinary Wednesday. But then...

12:44pm: Facebook post from my friend, a paralegal in an NY law firm:

"DOMA's going down :) " and then "[link] - got a memo about it at work about half an hour ago. big news!"

My first reaction: What?! When how where REALLY are you SURE?

For those in the dark, DOMA, or the Defense of Marriage Act, is a federal law, signed into law by President Clinton on September 21, 1996. (It's worth mentioning here that Clinton has since actually been supporting its repeal.) The hotly debated Section 3 of the Act defines marriage for federal purposes as the union of only one man and one woman. In practice, this means that even if we got married in a state where same-sex marriage is legal - say, Massachusetts or Connecticut - it would mean nothing on a federal level. No federal tax benefits, no federal family or medical leave, no Social Security survivor's benefits, no federal tax-free inheritance, and no immigration rights.

So what actually happened on February 23, 2011? Was DOMA repealed? No. It's still federal law. But the Obama Administration finally declared that it would stop defending this federal law in court. The Department of Justice (DoJ) will no longer defend this law. Technically, it is the DoJ's duty to defend all currently existing federal laws if they find a rational basis to do so. So why have they stopped defending DOMA? Because the Obama Administration has found DOMA to be unconstitutional - literally, in violation of the United States constitution.

So what's next? Well, hopefully, we keep pushing through organizations like HRC and the ACLU, and through bills such as the Respect for Marriage Act and the Uniting American Families Act, and through cases brought to national attention by brave individuals like like Edie Windsor and Alcota/Ojeda, and finally bring the sucker down by April 13, 2012.

The latest on this is another hold-your-breath-this-may-be-it piece of news:

"As the fate of the Defense of Marriage Act hangs in legal limbo, immigration offices in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. have indicated that they will put [green card] applications and petitions involving married, binational same-sex couples on hold until the issue is resolved, according to The Advocate."

Active resistance against the discriminatory DOMA. Even though nothing has legally changed, it's like our whole outlook has been transformed. It's a huge sigh of relief and gratitude. The end's in sight!

(image from here)