WASHINGTON – A robust coalition made up of civil rights, labor, progressive, faith, student, health, legal, women’s and LGBT organizations have announced support of the Respect for Marriage Act – the bill to repeal the discriminatory so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that withholds federal protections and respect for legally married gay and lesbian couples. The Respect for Marriage Act (H.R.1116 and S.598) enjoys broad support with a majority of Americans and has a record number of Congressional co- sponsors with 136 in the House and 32 in the Senate.
“Because of the ‘gay exception’ created by DOMA, America’s legally married gay and lesbian couples – including servicemembers risking their lives on the front lines for our safety – are treated as strangers under federal law, rather than provided the respect and protections federal law normally assures to married couples and their loved ones,” said Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry. “This broad and diverse coalition has come forward to urge members of Congress to end the unfairness. In America, we don’t have second-class citizens, and shouldn’t have second-class marriages, either.”
“The federal government should not be in the business of picking which marriages it likes and which it does not, but that is exactly what DOMA does,” said Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign president. “The breadth and depth of this coalition shines a bright light on the heart wrenching discrimination against loving, committed families caused by DOMA.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee considered the bill with a hearing in July and subsequently passed the legislation out of committee in November.
DOMA denies legally married gay and lesbian couples any of the more than 1,100 federal responsibilities and protections of marriage. 51 percent of voters oppose DOMA while only 34 percent favor it, according to a 2011 poll by HRC and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research.
