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Senator GILLIBRAND The Time for Congress to Repeal DOMA is Now

Posted by: Lez Get Real on February 23, 2011.

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Melanie Nathan – Feb 23-2011

Gillibrand: PRAISES OBAMA ADMIN DECISION TO NO LONGER DEFEND DOMA IN COURT and Statements by MEUSA

Washington D.C. – After U.S. Attorney General Holder’s announcement today that the Department of Justice, at the instruction of President Obama, will no longer defend Section 3 of Defense of Marriage Act lawsuits in court, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a leading voice in the Senate to repeal DOMA, released the following statement:

“Sexual orientation discrimination has no place in American law. I commend the Obama administration for upholding this American value today by concluding this statute is unconstitutional.

“The fact is that history is moving in a direction that ensures gay and lesbian couples are offered the same basic rights as everyone else – the right to get married, start a family and receive the full benefits that come with it, and be counted the same as everyone else. I look forward to the day when New York and all states accept this basic principle of fairness.

“The time for Congress to repeal DOMA is now, and I will work hard to make sure marriage equality becomes a reality for all.”

Repealing the Defense of Marriage Act would extend over 1,000 federal rights and hundreds of additional state rights to lesbian and gay couples who are married in states that allow gay marriage – rights including medical treatment and hospital visitation; medical proxy; inheritance; tax benefits; employee benefits for families, including health and life insurance, bereavement, sick leave, child rights and custodial protection, among many others. These rights would also have the potential to be provided to married gay and lesbian couples living in New York, which recognizes out-of-state marriages.

Senator Gillibrand believes lesbian and gay couples deserve the same rights, responsibilities, benefits and obligation that opposite sex married couples have – and that come only through marriage equality. Senator Gillibrand is committed to ensuring the same basic rights for everyone, and that’s why she’s working to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

Long time activist and Same-sex marriage litigant in California, Robin Tyler when asked if this is President Obama’s Berlin Wall moment, told Melanie Nathan of lezGetReal – “Yes. This is one more step toward our rights. Activism in the streets, hand in hand with advocacy, in the courts and the political system, has cracked the wall. If we keep up the pressure, we will win. It is our duty to our youth not just to say “it gets better”, but to make it better.”

Marriage Equality USA also commented stating:-

“Marriage Equality USA applauds President Obama’s historic decision to declare his support for a heightened standard of review and to stop defending the “Defense of Marriage Act” in pending lawsuits challenging DOMA as unconstitutional. The Attorney General has confirmed that the Department of Justice will no longer defend the measure, which severely limits the potential of states to honor or carry out same-sex marriages, in court.

“This is a watershed moment as the President of the United States and the Attorney General have together taken a powerful stand against this unjust law. We are overjoyed that President Obama has taken concrete measures to fulfill on his pledge to end DOMA. The momentum is building to stop using taxpayers’ money to enforce laws that serve only to deny Gay Americans equality under the law. The President and Attorney General have followed the example of California Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown and State Attorney Generals Bill Lockyer and Kamila Harris who have refused to defend Proposition 8 as constitutional. President Obama will be remembered as standing on the right side of history and for ensuring that the enduring American principle of equality under the law is finally extended to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans,” said Molly McKay, Marriage Equality USA Media Director.

“There are thousands of same-sex couples legally married across the country. DOMA stands in the doorway of recognizing and honoring those marriages and denying same-sex couples access to the 1,138 federal rights of marriage. This injustice cannot and will not stand. President Obama’s decision restores our faith and our hope that he will be the President who brings our country on par with our allies across the globe and ensures fairness and justice for all its citizens,” said Molly McKay, Marriage Equality USA Media Director.

“As plaintiffs in California’s historic marriage equality lawsuit, we are excited to see the President step forward to usher in marriage equality beyond a state by state momentum. His decision brings closer the day when America will ensure equality from sea to shining sea,” said Stuart Gaffney, plaintiffs in the Strauss v Horton lawsuit who married his husband John Lewis in California prior to Proposition 8’s passage.”