September 17, 2009 – Democrat Representatives Jerrold Nadler (NY), lesbian Tammy Baldwin (WI), gay millionaire Jared Polis (CO) and officials from LGBT groups held a press conference today to push for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) passed by Congress in 1996.

Nadler is chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. His DOMA repeal bill already has at least 69 co-sponsors! Nadler is a consistent advocate for the gay agenda. He voted against DOMA in 1996.

The Defense of Marriage Act states that under federal law, marriage is defined as a union of one man and one woman. It also defines “spouse” to mean a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife. DOMA also protects individual states from being forced to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.  

As candidate for the presidency, Obama stated he wished to repeal DOMA so same-sex marriages from other states will be forced upon states that have refused to legalize same-sex marriage.

At the same time he was supporting repeal of DOMA, he was also claiming that he favored one-man, one-woman traditional marriage and would only support gay civil unions or domestic partnerships. As usual, Obama was being two-faced in his responses. He is the master of deception. Watch his response to a question on marriage in our TVC’s first of its kind Video Election Guide from 2008:  Saddleback discussion of homosexual marriage. By destroying DOMA, he is supporting gay marriage!

“Obama is talking out of both sides of his mouth,” said TVC Executive Director Andrea Lafferty. “He says he supports traditional marriage, but he can’t also support DOMA because it will undermine traditional marriage. He is lying.”

By repealing DOMA, Democrats and their LGBT allies will help destroy the concept of marriage altogether. At present, 36 states have constitutional or DOMA bans on gay marriage.

Nadler’s bill, misnamed, the “Respect for Marriage Act of 2009,” (H.R. 3567) will repeal Section 2 of Title 23 of the United States Code that protects states from being forced to recognize out of state gay marriages; it also repeals Section 3, which defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman. There is no bill number yet for this anti-marriage legislation.

LGBT activists claim that the Defense of Marriage Act “singles out lawfully married same-sex couples for discriminatory treatment under federal law” and denies them 1100 federal protections and responsibilities, including: 

• gay couples can’t file their taxes jointly;
• receive social security benefits for spouses;
• take unpaid sick leave;
• receive employer-provided family health benefits;
• receive retirement benefits;
• be protected by bankruptcy law or Medicaid rules.

They also claim that DOMA violates the principle that marriage is to be determined by each state not by the federal government. They’re suddenly concerned about state’s rights, yet in every state where the people have voted against gay marriage, an army of gay lawyers have filed lawsuits to prohibit the voters from amending their state constitutions to ban gay marriage.

States with “legal” gay marriages have been forced by liberal judges or liberal legislators to legalize it – ignoring the clear will of the voters in these states.

Incrementalism Tactics

Chai Feldblum, a lesbian law professor at Georgetown University is a leading liberal lawyer across the spectrum of issues, including the gay agenda. She is an advocate of incrementalism in winning gay legal victories in America. Feldblum was the primary author of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). In both cases, she said ENDA first only covered employment and then moved “to housing and public accommodations in a later bill,” or “covering people with disabilities in housing first and then moving to greater coverage in the ADA.”

The Respect for Marriage Act of 2009 (H.R. 3567) is an incremental step toward the total destruction of traditional marriage in America.

Gay activists are claiming that the Respect for Marriage Act of 2009 won’t force states to recognize out-of-state gay marriages. Supporters claim that Nadler’s bill “does not repeal DOMA entirely. States would still be allowed to ignore gay marriages performed outside their borders. But the federal government would recognize such marriages, even if the couple's state of residence does not.

“For the purposes of any Federal law in which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered married if that individual's marriage is valid in the State where marriage was entered into …”

What gays say they are after are federal benefits of marriage that they now lack.

LGBT supporters claim that Nadler’s legislation would “only facilitate federal recognition of same-sex marriages – not domestic partnerships or civil unions. The bill will also confer federal benefits of marriage on gay couples even if they move to a state that doesn’t recognize their marriage.”

“In short, this is a stealth way of making gay marriage a federally-protected right even in states that have constitutional or defense of marriage laws in place,” said Lafferty.

Once the federal government recognizes gay marriage as a “right,” it will only be a matter of time before a liberal federal court rules that any prohibitions against gay marriage at the state level is unconstitutional. Gay marriage will be imposed by court edict on all states – even those with constitutional amendments against it.

Supporters of the bill claim that gay couples need “certainty” that their relationship will have federal recognition no matter what state they live in – even ones that ban gay marriage.

Supporters also propose that President Obama issue an executive order banning “discrimination” against any state or community that receives federal money. This will impose the gay agenda on all states receiving federal dollars and on non-profit or religious groups if they receive any federal grant money.

“Gay activists are clearly using Chai Feldblum’s incrementalist strategy in pushing for the repeal of DOMA,” said Lafferty. “They claim Nadler’s bill won’t impact states, but this is a lie. Every incremental step takes them one day closer to having imposed the gay agenda on all Americans.” 

TAKE ACTION: Contact your U.S. Representative and ask that he or she vote NO on Nadler’s DOMA repeal legislation.

Additional Resources:
Do Homosexuals Really Want The Right To Marry?
BRIEFING PAPER On The Homosexual Agenda
California Supreme Court Redefines The Traditional Family
‘The Advocate’ Lauds Polygamous Relationships
Homosexual Marriage: Gateway To Polygamy/Polyamory