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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
Yesterday the Attorney General for the United States of America announced that it would no longer defend DOMA in court. DOMA, signed by President Bill Clinton states that only marriages between one man and one woman would be recognized for federal benefits by the US Government.
Further, individual states have passed similar baby DOMAs that basically state that they will not only not allow marriages between same sex couples but also not recognize marriages preformed in other states, in effect voiding the Full Faith and Credit Clause that states that all states should honor and give full faith and credit to those documents and orders by all other states.... as in marriage licenses. We don't expect our citizens to go to each of the states to get married as they pass through it's jurisdiction. We as a group of open minded justice intending people want to say yes, you are married in this state too. You don't have to marry in our state to have those benefits entitled to you by marriage.
(from the statement)
“Congressional leaders must not waste another taxpayer dollar defending this patently unconstitutional law,” said Solmonese. “The federal government has no business picking and choosing which legal marriages they want to recognize. Instead Congress should take this opportunity to wipe the stain of marriage discrimination from our laws.”
A lot has changed in the years since DOMA was enacted. Laws that state that sexual conduct between same sex partners is a crime have been removed. We have seen the repeal of DADT, which will allow Gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the US Military. We have seen other countries around the world and states in our own union granting marriage rights to us. I'm so excited to be living in a time to see all these changes for the LGBTQ Community. I know the road is long, but I'm prepared for the trip.
If you'd like to read stories from the actual people fighting the fight for marriage take a moment to read Hitched! Wedding Stories from San Francisco Hall. This is a collection of essays by those that stood in line and waited to be married before the right was yanked away. My contribution to this was accepted by the editor and published in this collection.
Note, the letter to Congress was just released. It's an excellent read. (LETTER)
Blessed Be
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6 comments
here in the Philippines, marrying with same sex is a NO-NO ever since ..
Thanks for your comment Faye. I really have issue with a government telling you what you can or can't do based on a moral judgement. If they could give me some solid facts as to why something is wrong, let's say like murder, or assault we can look at this and say yes this harms another and therefore should not be allowed. Telling someone who they can or cannot love when we're talking about consenting adults, IMHO implies that I am being ruled by another's morality. That's just not ok.
Yay!! Btw, the Maryland Senate passed the gay right to marriage amendment .. it's off to the governor's office to be signed into law :)
Cheer! Lots of great birthday presents for me this week!
Just wanted to say hello. I found this blog on another blog roll and look forward to reading it. I am back to Wicca and paganism after letting it fall by the wayside for quite some time. I love the GLBT issues on here. I am very active in the GLBT community and am in law school for the reason of going into GLBT legal work (my partner of 10 years is FTM). So, finding a blog that rolls it all into one is a great find!
Thanks for your comment Sue. I appreciate you stopping by. I post frequently on LGBT issues as well as wicca & health and nutrition. I too studied law, and my partner is FTM. I'm glad to have you here and look forward to your future comments.
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