WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama insisted Monday he still wants to scrap what
he calls a discriminatory federal marriage law, even as his administration angered gay rights activists
by defending it in court.
The president said his administration's stance in a California
court case is not about defending traditional marriage, but is instead about defending traditional legal practice.
Justice Department lawyers filed new papers Monday seeking to throw out a lawsuit brought by a gay
couple challenging the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA. Gay rights groups say that by
doing so, the administration is failing to follow through on campaign promises made by Obama last year to work to repeal the
law.
Department lawyers are defending the law "as it traditionally does when acts of Congress are challenged,"
Obama said in a statement.
The Clinton-era law denies federal recognition of gay marriage
and gives states the right to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
Obama said he plans
to work with Congress to repeal the law, and said his administration "will continue to examine and implement measures
that will help extend rights and benefits" to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender couples under existing law.
The
government says in its court filing that it will defend the statute in this case because a reasonable argument can be made
that the law is constitutional — a standard practice of government lawyers.
The mixed message got a mixed review
from Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign,
a gay rights group.
"It is not enough to disavow this discriminatory law, and then wait for Congress or the courts
to act," Solmonese said in a statement. "While they contend that it is the DOJ's duty to defend an act of Congress,
we contend that it is the administration's duty to defend every citizen from discrimination."
Walter Dellinger,
a former solicitor general during the Clinton administration, praised Monday's filing for striking "a delicate but
appropriate balance between the government's obligation to respect federal laws enacted by Congress and this administration's
policy and moral concerns about this particular law."
The government's previous filing in the case angered
gay rights activists who supported Obama's candidacy in part because of his pledge to
move forward on repealing the law and the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prevents gays from serving
openly in the military.
The Justice Department is obligated "to defend federal
statutes when they are challenged in court. The Justice Department cannot pick and choose which federal laws it will defend
based on any one administration's policy preferences," said department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler.
"DOMA
reflects a cautiously limited response to society's still-evolving understanding of the institution of marriage,"
according to the filing by Assistant Attorney General Tony West.
The administration
also disavowed past arguments made by conservatives that DOMA protects children by defining marriage as between a man and
a woman.
"The United States does not believe that DOMA is rationally related to any legitimate government
interests in procreation and child-rearing and is therefore not relying upon any such interests to defend DOMA's constitutionality,"
lawyers argued in the filing.
Monday's court filing was in response to a lawsuit by Arthur Smelt and Christopher
Hammer, who are challenging the federal law, which prevents couples in states that recognize same-sex
unions from securing Social Security spousal benefits, filing joint taxes and benefiting
from other federal rights connected to marriage.
Justice lawyers have argued that the act is constitutional and contend
that awarding federal marriage benefits to gays would infringe on the rights of taxpayers in the 30 states that specifically
prohibit same-sex marriages.
Earlier this year, Massachusetts became the first state
to challenge the law in court.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090817/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_gay_marriage
From Michigan Equality:
It's time to speak out for equality in employment! The Employment Non-Discrimnation
Act ("ENDA") was introduced in the United States Senate today. ENDA will prohibit discrimination against employees
on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability. Please contact our U.S. Senators by phone or email and
urge them to speak out in favor of this legislation.
Sen. Carl Levin Phone: (202) 224-6221
Website: http://levin.senate.gov/contact/
Sen. Sen. Debbie Stabenow Phone: (202) 224-4822
Email: senator@stabenow.senate.gov
Your voice is important - your call matters. Please call or email Sen.
Levin and Sen. Stabenow today.
Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon introduced the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to the US Senate yesterday.
Two of the act's three co-sponsors are Republicans!
If passed, ENDA will protect LGBT people from job discrimination.
At this time, 44 senators have committed to voting for ENDA (including both Michigan senators!) and one (Sam
Brownback, R-Kansas, a known uberconservative) has committed to voting against it. That means there are 55 undecided
or unconfirmed votes. We need at least 7 for a simple majority, but it's a safe guess that this is one bill the
Republicans will try to filibuster, so we really need at least 16 more votes.
For a tabulation of commitments,
please go to
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Aqmt1IR--NuIcnF6RkxWYU5xWnhVdWt5cW9uUG9CblE&hl=en. If you have friends and relatives in a state whose senator(s) is/are uncommited, please ask them to contact their
senator(s) and urge them to vote FOR ENDA!
In the US House of Represenatives, 82 members still have not spoken
in favor of ENDA, including two Michigan Democrats: Bart Stupak (District 1) and Mark Schauer (District 7). Michigan
Republicans who have not committed include Candice Miller (District 10) and Thad McCotter (District 11). If you live
in any of these districts, please go to
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dc5pbmw3_10cmhmd96m and scroll down to the Michigan listings to get to the contact pages of these Representatives. Ask them to vote
for ENDA! Tell your friends and relatives in these districts to do the same.
