tagged w/ Defense of Marriage Act
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The Tea Party loves liberty and freedom and well they should. After all, that's what the Constitution is all about. Sic semper tyrannis and all that. But, tea totalitarianists have a curious sense of how to prioritize the liberties they'll save. An example, let's call it No Dwarf Left Behind.The Tea Party loves liberty and freedom and well they should. After all, that's... more
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Now we can see how the government should be distributing our tax money. Instead of rebuilding our infrastructure or subsidizing health care, we need to make sure the sanctity of marriage is preserved.Now we can see how the government should be distributing our tax money. Instead of... more
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When you're talking about the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) a good defense is apparently a good offense - and no one is more offensive than Pat Robertson.
Robertson, God's official gaffemeister, says it's okay to punch out of a presumably 'traditional' marriage if one spouse has Alzheimer's.When you're talking about the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) a good defense is... more
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Bryan Safi uses his "That's Gay" bully pulpit to defend President Obama for not defending the Defense of Marriage Act. Sounds confusing, yes, but not nearly as baffling as the vitriol that Obama's decision has unleashed among opponents of gay marriage. Watch as Bryan is buffeted by the ill winds blown by the likes of Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee and Megyn Kelly. It's what's known in the weather biz as a "shi*storm."
That's Gay is a recurring segment on the weekly television show infoMania. In each episode of That's Gay, Bryan Safi explores gay issues and stereotypes as they are portrayed by the clueless media. For more Bryan visit http://current.com/groups/thats-gay/ and Current TV.
infoMania is a half-hour comedy show that airs weekly on Current TV. Picture the ultimate office water-cooler, only with funnier co-workers who willingly stay up late imbibing all forms of media so you don't have to. Caveat: Bring your own water. Hosted by Brett Erlich and co-starring Sergio Cilli, Erin Gibson, Ben Hoffman and Bryan Safi, infoMania airs on Thursdays at 11/10c on Current TV.
Go to http://current.com/infomania for more, and make sure to check out our Facebook profile for special features at http://facebook.com/infomania.
Current Media, the Peabody-and Emmy Award-winning television and online network founded in 2005 by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, engages viewers with smart, provocative and timely programming -stories that no one else is telling in ways that no one else is telling them. Current's programming shines a light where others won't dare and boldly explores important subjects -- opening minds, sparking conversations and forming deep connections with its viewers. The channel's audience is comprised of affluent, curious, social and connected adults who crave the kind of entertaining, enlightening, witty and informative programming found on Current's TV and online properties. Current is now available via cable and satellite TV in 75 million households worldwide - 60 million households in the US - through distribution partners Comcast (Channel 107); Time Warner ; DirecTV (Channel 358 nationwide); Dish Network (Channel 196 nationwide); Verizon and AT&T. In the UK and Ireland, Current is available on BSkyB (Channel 183) and Virgin Media (Channel 155), and in Italy, Current is available on Sky Italia (Channel 130). Viewers can also find Current online at www.current.com.Bryan Safi uses his "That's Gay" bully pulpit to defend President Obama... more
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This week on infoMania, there's a new Viral Video Film School, a visit from Mr. TV, Ben Hoffman parodies pundit shows, That's Gay tackles the Defense of Marriage Act, Modern Lady looks at lady mags, and Brett gives his list of the best of the bad options on Netflix's streaming service.
infoMania is a half-hour comedy show that airs weekly on Current TV. Picture the ultimate office water-cooler, only with funnier co-workers who willingly stay up late imbibing all forms of media so you don't have to. Caveat: Bring your own water. Hosted by Brett Erlich and co-starring Sergio Cilli, Erin Gibson, Ben Hoffman and Bryan Safi, infoMania airs on Thursdays at 11/10c on Current TV.
Go to http://current.com/infomania for more, and make sure to check out our Facebook profile for special features at http://facebook.com/infomania.
Current Media, the Peabody-and Emmy Award-winning television and online network founded in 2005 by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, engages viewers with smart, provocative and timely programming -stories that no one else is telling in ways that no one else is telling them. Current's programming shines a light where others won't dare and boldly explores important subjects -- opening minds, sparking conversations and forming deep connections with its viewers. The channel's audience is comprised of affluent, curious, social and connected adults who crave the kind of entertaining, enlightening, witty and informative programming found on Current's TV and online properties. Current is now available via cable and satellite TV in 75 million households worldwide - 60 million households in the US - through distribution partners Comcast (Channel 107); Time Warner ; DirecTV (Channel 358 nationwide); Dish Network (Channel 196 nationwide); Verizon and AT&T. In the UK and Ireland, Current is available on BSkyB (Channel 183) and Virgin Media (Channel 155), and in Italy, Current is available on Sky Italia (Channel 130). Viewers can also find Current online at www.current.com.This week on infoMania, there's a new Viral Video Film School, a visit from Mr.... more
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Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said Friday that President Obama had overstepped his constitutional authority with his recent decision to order his administration to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act. While the move didn't immediately open Obama up to impeachment, Gingrich claimed, it did raise his worry about a future constitutional crisis.
In an interview with Newsmax, Gingrich characterized the president's latest announcement regarding DOMA, a law that allows states to not honor gay marriages, as "a dereliction of duty and a violation of his constitutional oath" that "cannot be allowed to stand."
On Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder said Obama had determined that his administration would no longer defend a law defining marriage as only between a man and a woman, but that it would continue to be enforced pending an actual legislative overturn.
Gingrich on Friday said that this plan of action was unacceptable.
"He swore an oath on the Bible to become president that he would uphold the Constitution and enforce the laws of the United States," Gingrich said. "He is not a one-person Supreme Court. The idea that we now have the rule of Obama instead of the rule of law should frighten everybody."
While Obama was sheltered by the left, which "likes the policy," Gingrich claimed, he proposed another situation that he suggested would have caused much more clamor.
"Imagine that Governor Palin had become president," Gingrich said. "Imagine that she had announced that Roe versus Wade in her view was unconstitutional and therefore the United States government would no longer protect anyone's right to have an abortion because she personally had decided it should be changed. The news media would have gone crazy. The New York Times would have demanded her impeachment."
He then provided a potential legislative solution based on his belief that what the president was doing was unconstitutional.
"I believe the House Republicans next week should pass a resolution instructing the president to enforce the law and to obey his own constitutional oath, and they should say if he fails to do so that they will zero out [defund] the office of attorney general and take other steps as necessary until the president agrees to do his job," Gingrich said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/25/newt-gingrich-obama-impeachment-palin_n_828506.htmlFormer Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said Friday that President Obama had... more
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The New York Times...
February 24, 2011
Gay Marriage Seems to Wane as Conservative Issue
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s decision to abandon his legal support for the Defense of Marriage Act has generated only mild rebukes from the Republicans hoping to succeed him in 2012, evidence of a shifting political climate in which social issues are being crowded out by economic concerns.
The Justice Department announced on Wednesday that after two years of defending the law — hailed by proponents in 1996 as an cornerstone in the protection of traditional values — the president and his attorney general have concluded it is unconstitutional.
In the hours that followed, Sarah Palin’s Facebook site was silent. Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, was close-mouthed. Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, released a Web video — on the labor union protests in Wisconsin — and waited a day before issuing a marriage statement saying he was “disappointed.”
Others, like Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, and Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi, took their time weighing in, and then did so only in the most tepid terms. “The Justice Department is supposed to defend our laws,” Mr. Barbour said.
Asked if Mitch Daniels, the Republican governor of Indiana and a possible presidential candidate, had commented on the marriage decision, a spokeswoman said that he “hasn’t, and with other things we have going on here right now, he has no plans.”
The sharpest reaction came from Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, in an interview here during a stop to promote his new book, who called the administration’s decision “utterly inexplicable.”
A few years ago, the president’s decision might have set off an intense national debate about gay rights. But the Republicans’ reserved response this week suggests that Mr. Obama may suffer little political damage as he evolves from what many gay rights leaders saw as a lackluster defender of their causes into a far more aggressive advocate.
“The wedge has lost its edge,” said Mark McKinnon, a Republican strategist who worked for President George W. Bush during his 2004 campaign, when gay marriage ballot measures in a dozen states helped turn out conservative voters.
Mr. Obama’s move provoked some outrage, especially among evangelical Christians and conservative groups like the Family Research Council. In a statement Wednesday, Tony Perkins, president of the council, condemned the president’s decision as pandering.
But Republican strategists and gay rights activists said on Thursday that the issue’s power as a political tool for Republican candidates is diminishing. While surveys suggest that Americans are evenly divided on whether the federal government should recognize gay marriages, opposition has fallen from nearly 70 percent in 1996.
Prominent Republicans like Dick Cheney, the former vice president, and Barbara Bush, daughter of the former president, have defended the right of gays to marry. And Mr. Obama has been emboldened by the largely positive response to his recent, and successful, push for Congress to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the military’s ban on gays serving openly.
At the same time, the rise of the Tea Party movement, and the success that Republicans had last year in attacking Democratic candidates on economic issues, has pushed the debate over abortion and gay rights to the back burner.
“I don’t think this is the issue that it once was,” said John Feehery, a Republican strategist. “I think that the economic issues are so big that this one pales in comparison.”
In his first two years in office, Mr. Obama drew criticism from gay rights advocates who thought he was dragging his feet on their issues. Those same advocates see the shift as evidence that with an eye on the 2012 campaign, the president has calculated that the benefits of responding to his base outweigh the risks of upsetting conservatives who wouldn’t be voting for him anyway.
Among them is John Aravosis, the founder of Americablog.com, who in a 2009 blog post called the administration’s first legal brief in a Defense of Marriage Act case “despicable” and “homophobic.” Mr. Aravosis said on Thursday he is “much happier” with Mr. Obama, adding: “I think the gay community got to him. I’m not convinced we got to his heart, but I think we got to his political head.”
Others, like Kerry Eleveld, editor of EqualityMatters.org, a new Web site, say Mr. Obama appears to be evaluating the politics of gay rights issues differently since the positive response to the don’t ask, don’t tell repeal from people on the political left, many of whom have criticized him over issues like health care, climate change and immigration.
“He got this big bump from it in terms of the progressive base, and didn’t get a whole lot of heat, and I think that has given him a little more heart in feeling like L.G.B.T. issues aren’t as toxic as a lot of people have been painting them for the past 20 years,” she said.
While Mr. Obama has changed his legal position on the Defense of Marriage Act, his personal views on same-sex marriage — he opposes it, but favors civil unions — have not changed, the White House says.
A big question is whether they will. Mr. Obama has said his views are “evolving,” and some expect he will announce his support for same-sex marriage as he campaigns for re-election. But that could complicate Mr. Obama’s efforts to appeal beyond his liberal base.
“It’s still part of Obama’s record now,” said Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist, who has advised Mr. Romney. “It’s one where it looks like he’s changing his position.”
Ashley Parker contributed reporting.
Photo: Mike Huckabee called the administration's new position “utterly inexplicable.”The New York Times...
February 24, 2011
Gay Marriage Seems to Wane as... more
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Defense of Marriage Act: Latest News about Defense of Marriage Act, in American The American Family Association, who led an effort to boycott the conservative CPAC gathering this month in its inclusion of groups supporting gay rights, hopes the decision of the White House to reconsider its support for the legal defense the Marriage Act will help strengthen the momentum for social development issues in the GOP.Defense of Marriage Act: Latest News about Defense of Marriage Act, in American The... more
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Judge Joseph Tauro found that the Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA's Section 3 was in violation of the 10th amendment in the case of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Health and Human Services.
Additionally he found that in the case of Gill v. Office of Personel Management that DOMA violates the 5th amendment clause of equal protection.
http://gay.americablog.com/2010/07/breaking-section-3-of-doma-ruled.html
Everyone is still on pins and needles about the Proposition 8 ruling pending by Judge Vaughan Walker. It is due sometime this month.Judge Joseph Tauro found that the Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA's Section 3 was... more
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1. Your tax dollars at work… in Obamastan
2. A cum blast from the past
3. Future crimes today
4. The Winter Olympigs
5. Worldwide Resistance Report
6. Ska-P
7. Ward Churchill deconcstruct’s Obama’s Cairo speech1. Your tax dollars at work… in Obamastan
2. A cum blast from the past
3.... more
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President Obama issued a statement Monday affirming that he would continue to seek repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. The president thinks the 13-year-old law, which denies benefits to domestic partners of federal employees and allows states to reject same-sex marriages performed in other states, discriminates against gays and should be repealed.
-------------------------------------------------------------President Obama issued a statement Monday affirming that he would continue to seek... more
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The Obama administration today branded the federal Defense of Marriage Act "discriminatory" and called for its repeal -- in the course of defending it against a lawsuit brought by a gay couple from Orange County.
As long as the law denying federal recognition of same-sex marriages remains on the books, Department of Justice attorneys are obliged to find constitutional justification for it, explained department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler.
Obama has disappointed gay citizens by failing to reverse policies that deny some rights and privileges to same-sex couples.
Assistant Atty. Gen. Tony West made it clear in his brief today, though, that the administration defends the federal same-sex marriage barrier with reluctance.
"This administration does not support DOMA as a matter of policy, believes that it is discriminatory, and supports its repeal," West wrote. "Consistent with the rule of law, however, the Department of Justice has long followed the practice of defending federal statutes as long as reasonable arguments can be made in support of their constitutionality, even if the department disagrees with a particular statute as a policy matter, as it does here."
West urged the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer of Mission Viejo without addressing the merit of their claims that the federal law is unconstitutional.
Smelt and Hammer haven't shown that they have been adversely affected by the federal law, West argued, because their marriage is legal in California and they haven't applied for any federal benefits that would be denied under the Defense of Marriage Act.
-- Carol J. WilliamsThe Obama administration today branded the federal Defense of Marriage Act... more
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While delivering his Keynote speech at Netroots Nation, former President Clinton was interrupted by a blogger and activist demanding he call for a repeal of the 1993 Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, that banned gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, and the 1996 Defense of Marriage act.
The president rebuffed the attack passionately detailing the reasons why he felt no other option but to sign the bills, and placing responsibility back on the shoulders of the LGBT community.While delivering his Keynote speech at Netroots Nation, former President Clinton was... more
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President Barack Obama, under fire from the gay-rights community over slow action on its priorities, promised to deliver by the time he leaves office.
The president gave no new details about how he would advance these issues, but he made passionate remarks saluting the pioneers of the gay-rights movement and expressed solidarity with those working for equal rights.
"Welcome to your White House," the president said at a reception Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the birth of the modern gay-rights movement. His remarks were greeted warmly by a cheering crowd of some 250 gay and lesbian activists and supporters.
As a presidential candidate, Mr. Obama vowed to overturn the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which prohibits openly gay men and women from serving, and to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which allows states to ignore same-sex marriages performed in other states and bars the federal government from granting marriage benefits to people in same-sex unions.
The Obama administration has said it will take congressional action to address both issues. But, aware of both the complex politics involved and its full agenda, the White House has done little so far to prod lawmakers along.
Many in the gay-rights community were also angered by the tone of an administration legal brief defending the Defense of Marriage Act.
Earlier this month, Mr. Obama offered a small step, promising to extend certain benefits available to same-sex partners of federal workers. But critics dismissed the move as amounting to little in practice.
The president appeared mindful of these criticisms when he stepped to the front of the East Room on Monday.
"It's not for me to tell you to be patient," he said, comparing the gay activists' struggle to that of African-Americans in the civil rights movement. "I expect and hope to be judged not by words...but by the promises that my administration keeps."
He added that by the time his presidency is over, "I think you guys will have pretty good feelings about the Obama administration."
Mr. Obama said he had asked the secretary of defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop a plan to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. He reiterated his pledge to try to reverse the Defense of Marriage Act and said he would work for legislation aimed at preventing workplace discrimination, extending the federal hate-crime law to acts against gays and lesbians, and giving domestic partners of federal workers health and other benefits.
And he said he was committed to repealing rules that prohibit people with HIV from traveling into the U.S.
Joe Solomonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights group, was at the event and said afterward that he appreciated the president's strong words. But he added: "It is the actions to advance equality -- not simply the words -- that will be the true marker by which this White House will be judged."President Barack Obama, under fire from the gay-rights community over slow action on... more
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More than a dozen Massachusetts same-sex couples who were married in their state have filed suit against the federal government, arguing that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional and discriminatory.
The suit was filed Tuesday in Boston by Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, the legal group that argued successfully in 2004 to grant marriage equality in Massachusetts, the Associated Press reports. The lawsuit includes several agencies of the federal government, with the Department of Justice representing the government in court.
The legislation in question is DOMA, signed into law in 1996 by President Bill Clinton, to prevent states and the federal government from acknowledging same-sex marriage in states that allow it. The new lawsuit is demanding only that the federal government, and not other states, recognize marriages between gay and lesbian couples by allowing rights and benefits such as joint tax filing, sharing Social Security benefits, and more than 1,000 other federal rights that straight married couples have but gay and lesbian couples do not.
I say overturn DOMA. It's discrimination and it's wrong.More than a dozen Massachusetts same-sex couples who were married in their state have... more
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In February 2004, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom began officiating same-sex weddings on the steps of City Hall. Over the next month, more than 4,000 couples tied the knot in defiance of a state referendum that had banned gay marriage in California in 2000. Newsom says he challenged the law out of a sense of "moral obligation." But his move awakened a sense of moral outrage among Republicans, who raced to put anti-gay-marriage initiatives on the ballot in 11 states. After John Kerry lost in November, some Democrats suggested that the specter of gay marriage had thrown the contest to George W. Bush. "I believe it did energize a very conservative vote," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said immediately after the election. "It gave them a position to rally around. The whole issue has just been too much, too fast, too soon."
Now that the California Supreme Court has legalized gay marriage, should Barack Obama brace for another round of backlash at the ballot box? Bill Whalen, a Republican media consultant and a research fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, describes gay marriage as a "gift" to John McCain. The California ruling is "going to make people mad," says Carrie Gordon Earll, a policy analyst for Focus on the Family. Both predict that Christian conservatives in California, Florida, and Arizona will flock to the polls to back constitutional amendments that ban gay marriage. They also expect voters in other states to think twice about voting for an Illinois senator who supports the California ruling and says he wants to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which would open the door for married gay couples to sue for legal recognition in any state.
However, for many Americans, gay marriage may not seem as frightening as it did four short years ago. "You have a country that is evolving pretty quickly on these issues," argues Chris Lehane, former communications director for the Kerry campaign. It's not just the popularity of shows like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Anti-discrimination laws have afforded gays a new degree of safety and visibility in the workplace and acclimated more straights to the idea of same-sex relationships. While 63 percent of Americans opposed legalizing gay marriage four years ago, recently 63 percent told USA Today that same-sex marriage should be "strictly a private decision."
(more at the link)In February 2004, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom began officiating same-sex weddings... more
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[mtvU via Queerty]
Bill Clinton could give hot head John McCain a run for his money!
The former president gets a little snap happy with Smith College journalist Lily Lamboy when their conversation turns to the Defense of Marriage Act, which “Bubba” signed in 1996. That law effectively protects states from other states’ marriage laws, ie: a Massachusetts marriage does not have to be honored in Utah, an example that comes up numerous times in this heated exchange.
We have to give Lamboy credit, because girl’s got balls. She started the conversation by quoting singer Melissa Etheridge, who last year accused the Clintons of “throwing the gays under the bus” with regard to DOMA, which many gays consider to be an impediment to equality. Clinton doesn’t agree and justifies his actions by putting them in context. Lamboy, bless her, then presses him on his beliefs, but he’s quick to remind her that it’s Hillary who matters. It’s downhill from there.[mtvU via Queerty]
Bill Clinton could give hot head John McCain a run for his money!... more
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HIV/AIDS councilor Jason Hair-Wynn was planning a trip to Africa, to educate the children about HIV/AIDS. Hair-Wynn married his partner in Massachusetts and changed his name to include his partners surname along with his own. The State Department refused his application with his new name and used the Defense of Marriage Act to defend their actions:
"We are unable to comply with your request for a name change based on the documentation you sent because of the Defense of Marriage Act ...," the letter states.
"In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administration bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word 'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife."
The DMV and the social security administration were not so picky. They both changed his name to Hair-Wynn. Jason plans to drop the Wynn part of his name so he can travel to Africa to help the children. If you are interested in supporting the organization that Jason Hair-Wynn volunteers for visit wespreadthetruth.org HIV/AIDS councilor Jason Hair-Wynn was planning a trip to Africa, to educate the... more
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