Ok, kids, it’s time to talk about D.O.M.A.
D.O.M.A. is the Federal “Defense of Marriage Act”
However, this doesn’t defend anything but bigotry.
D.O.M.A., passed in 1996, defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman and allows states to not recognize marriages from another state if the party is a same-sex couple.
Example time:
Mary and Linda live in Massachusetts and are happily married under state law. However, Mary and Linda still don’t have the rights heterosexual couples have, like the ability to file joint taxes, the right to take time off from work to care for a seriously ill spouse through the Family Medical Leave Act, or the ability to get social security spousal and survivor benefits in cases of disability or death. If they go out of state, the state that they are traveling to can pretend that Mary and Linda aren’t married.
Even the man who authored D.O.M.A., Bob Barr, has called for its repeal.
You can help remind Obama that he is accountable for his campaign promises:
http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Open+Letter+to+Barack+Obama?t=anon
*mindthenews*
LINKS:
Bob Barr Calling For Repeal:
2004:
http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/relationships/12110leg20040330.html
Jan 5, 2009:
http://jointheimpact.com/2009/01/breaking-news-author-of-doma-asks-for-repeal/
Obama’s stance (He has said that he will repeal DOMA):
http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/lgbt.pdf
More info:
http://www.domawatch.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_of_Marriage_Act#See_also
Tags: civil rights, DOMA, lgbt
