WASHINGTON – The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the Respect for Marriage Act, legislation to repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA prohibits the federal government from recognizing legally married same-sex couples and unjustly deprives them of the concrete protections marriage would bring to them and their families.
California governor, Jerry Brown – whose state recognizes as valid those marriages between same-sex couples that occurred before the passage of Proposition 8 – submitted a letter to the committee in support of the legislation. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) also released a letter to the committee members from a bipartisan group of governors and mayors in marriage equality states calling for passage of the Respect for Marriage Act. In addition to the letter, HRC delivered 135,000 petition signatures to Senate offices showing the groundswell of public support for repeal of DOMA.
In July, the committee held a hearing on the Respect for Marriage Act in which HRC president, Joe Solmonese testified along with gay and lesbian individuals who had experienced significant hardship because of DOMA. It was the first time Congress had considered DOMA since its enactment 15 years ago, and this vote represents another historic first.
“With marriage equality a reality in six states and the District of Columbia, state leaders in both parties are finding it strengthens families,” said Solmonese. “DOMA is government-sanctioned discrimination, which causes real harm. We call on the United States Senate to rid our nation of this law.”
DOMA prevents any of the over 1,100 federal rights, benefits and responsibilities of marriage from being afforded to legally married same-sex couples. These include Social Security survivors benefits, federal employee health benefits for spouses, protections against spouses losing their homes in cases of severe medical emergencies, the right to sponsor a foreign born spouse for immigration, the guarantee of family and medical leave and the ability to file joint tax returns, among many others.
