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NEWS ABOUT: Defense of Marriage Act

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Gay Troops Sue Over DOMA

Lawsuit to be filed today

(Newser) - Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell may be gone, but married gay and lesbian service members aren’t done fighting for equal rights: Six active troops and two veterans are filing suit today to challenge the Defense of Marriage Act. Lead plaintiffs Shannon McLaughlin, a Massachusetts Army National Guard... More »

Obama: Don't Just Sit There When People Boo a Soldier

President fires away at GOP contenters at gay rights fundraiser

(Newser) - Ah, election season—when politicians remember that they once had guts. President Obama swung hard at GOP presidential hopefuls last night, blasting them for not condemning the crowd that booed a gay soldier at a Republican debate on Sept. 22, reports the Hill . "We don’t believe in the... More »

Married Gays Grapple With IRS

Taxmen not recognizing same-sex unions

(Newser) - The Internal Revenue Service is refusing to recognize gay marriages, causing headaches for couples who have won the right to wed in their home states, BusinessWeek finds. The Obama administration has urged federal agencies to extend benefits as far as they can to same-sex couples under existing law, but analysts... More »

Al Franken Dismantles DOMA Backer's Testimony

Ex-comedian gets laughs from chamber

(Newser) - Stuart Smalley was nowhere in sight yesterday as Al Franken shredded a Defense of Marriage Act supporter. Seems the gentleman from Minnesota took offense with Focus on the Family's Thomas Minnery and his citation of a federal study that found children in opposite-sex married families fared way better than... More »

Obama Backs Repeal of Marriage Law

President endorses bill to kill act

(Newser) - President Obama's " evolving views " on gay marriage appear to have evolved even further: The president has endorsed a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act , which defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein,... More »

Obama Relying on Gay Donors for 2012

Because some big money donors aren't showing up

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign is hoping gay donors can fill the holes left by the big-money interests that are deserting it. Gay donors have been showing their gratitude for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and Obama's abandonment of the Defense of Marriage Act, and... More »

Holder Bars Deportation of Gay Man in Civil Union

With DOMA in question, Eric Holder wants case reviewed

(Newser) - The attorney general made the surprising move of suspending the deportation of a gay man in a civil union with a US citizen yesterday. The AP reports that Holder has asked the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider its decision. The board had called for the deportation of Paul Wilson... More »

Bill Clinton: It’s Time for Gay Marriage

President who signed DOMA backs NY bill

(Newser) - The president who signed the Defense of Marriage Act is now campaigning to legalize gay marriage in New York. Bill Clinton released a statement through Human Rights Campaign today backing the bill currently being considered in his home state, Politico reports. “Our nation’s permanent mission is to form... More »

GOP-Hired Law Firm Quits DOMA Case

Paul Clement, who was to argue case, resigns from King and Spalding

(Newser) - The law firm hired by the GOP to defend the Defense of Marriage Act is quitting the case, for reasons it hasn’t specified, notes Politico . “In reviewing this assignment further, I determined that the process used for vetting this engagement was inadequate,” said King and Spalding’s... More »

GOP Paying Law Firm $500K to Back Gay Marriage Ban

Nancy Pelosi calls it a waste of money

(Newser) - House Republicans have agreed to pay a law firm $520 an hour, to a maximum of $500,000, to defend the Defense of Marriage Act now that President Obama has abandoned it. Former Bush Administration solicitor general Paul Clement will head up King and Spalding's defense of the law,... More »

Senate Dems Move to Zap DOMA

Introduce bill to repeal ban on gay marriage

(Newser) - It was another day of undoing in Congress: As House Republicans moved to dismantle financial reform yesterday, Democrats over in the Senate were fixing to make the Defense of Marriage Act go away. "It is time to right this wrong," Dianne Feinstein said in introducing the legislation. "... More »

Boehner: We'll Defend the Defense of Marriage Act

House GOP to hire lawyer to pick up slack from Obama

(Newser) - If Barack Obama won't fight for the Defense of Marriage Act , Congressional Republicans will do it for him, John Boehner announced today. House leaders will appoint a lawyer to argue for the 1996 law, which prevents the federal government from recognizing gay marriages, the LA Times reports. "It is... More »

Oops: Huckabee Defends Gay Marriage

By complaining about troubles of out-of-wedlock kids: Ruth Marcus

(Newser) - In attacking gay marriage, Mike Huckabee inadvertently offered an excellent defense of it, writes Ruth Marcus. He went from criticizing President Obama’s decision not to defend the gay-marriage ban to pointing out the difficult “economic reality of out-of-wedlock children.” The fact is, “gays and lesbians are... More »

Democrats Push to Repeal Law Against Gay Marriage

President's stance against DOMA gives them a nudge

(Newser) - With the Obama administration having declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional , Democratic lawmakers are launching new challenges of their own to the law, the Huffington Post reports. In the House, the "Respect for Marriage Act," which would explicitly repeal DOMA, is set to be introduced by Jerry... More »

Obama's Got GOP Trapped on Gay Marriage

Court battle is different from cable TV: Linda Hirshman

(Newser) - The Obama administration's decision not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act may seem politically risky—after all, “a majority of Americans have never polled in favor of same sex marriage,” writes Linda Hirshman for Salon . But, in fact, Obama has put Republicans in a bind: The GOP-led... More »

Obama: Law Against Gay Marriage Unconstitutional

In big shift, feds will no longer defend DOMA in court

(Newser) - Big win for gay rights advocates: The Obama administration has concluded that the Defense of Marriage Act—the law that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriage—is unconstitutional and won't defend it in court anymore, reports NPR . The president gave the Justice Department its new marching orders today, and Eric... More »

US Reluctantly Defends Federal Ban on Gay Marriage

Justice Department appeals judge's ruling that it's unconstitutional

(Newser) - A Justice Department filing yesterday backed the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The move appeals a federal judge’s ruling calling DOMA unconstitutional, TPM reports. But the administration asserted that it doesn’t support the act; the filing merely adhered to... More »

US Man's Husband Battles Deportation

Law bars man from sponsoring legally married same-sex partner

(Newser) - A gay couple who were legally married in Connecticut now face being split up by the Defense of Marriage Act. Princeton PhD student Josh Vandiver's husband is a Venezuelan citizen facing deportation because his work visa has expired. The law prevents Vandiver from sponsoring his husband for residency and he... More »

Obama to Give Gays Parents Right to Family Leave

Will be able to take time off to care for sick kids

(Newser) - President Obama intends to give gay workers the explicit right to take family and medical leave to care for a partner’s sick child—even if they have no legal relationship with that child. The Labor Department will issue a formal opinion tomorrow saying that the 1993 law that grants... More »

Meghan McCain: I Passed the Ridiculous GOP Purity Test

...so what makes me such a radical?

(Newser) - After George Washington University's College Republican group dissed for her pro-gay-marriage stance, saying her views don't align with the GOP, Meghan McCain decided to take her party's "ridiculous" purity test. McCain wanted to see "just how radical I am from the 'pure ones'"—and with a bit... More »

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