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NY Rep. to introduce DOMA Repeal Bill
http://www.gbmnews.com/articles/4437/1/NY-Rep-to-introduce-DOMA-Repeal-Bill/Page1.html
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By News Hound
Published on 09/11/2009
 
Rep. Jerrold Nadler intends to sponsor Bill next week

News Brief: National

(New York, NY) -With 50 other Congressional Representatives behind him, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) next week plans to introduce a bill for the repeal of the much maligned Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).According to a report by Kerry Eleveld of The Advocate a Nadler aide confirmed that the New York Congressman plans to make an announcement about introducing a bill to repeal the act at a press conference at the House Triangle on Sept 15 at 11:00am.

 

Rep. Jerrold Nadler
While the bill currently has over 50 cosponsors, the Congressman has not yet circulated a letter to his fellow House members in advance.

In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter in July, Nadler said that this bill would be a full repeal of DOMA, including Section 2, which advises states to disregard same-sex marriages that have been legally performed in other states, and Section 3, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

To all intents and purposes, if this bill is passed, it would be a back door recognition and acceptance of same-sex marriage.
As a candidate, then Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) supported full repeal of the legislation as a candidate for the presidency and as President, has reiterated that support in the White House.

"I believe it's discriminatory, I think it interferes with states' rights, and we will work with Congress to overturn it," Obama said of the law during an Oval Office signing ceremony in June.

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Rep. Jerrold Nadler intends to sponsor Bill next week

News Brief: National

(New York, NY) -With 50 other Congressional Representatives behind him, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) next week plans to introduce a bill for the repeal of the much maligned Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).According to a report by Kerry Eleveld of The Advocate a Nadler aide confirmed that the New York Congressman plans to make an announcement about introducing a bill to repeal the act at a press conference at the House Triangle on Sept 15 at 11:00am.

 

 

While the bill currently has over 50 cosponsors, the Congressman has not yet circulated a letter to his fellow House members in advance.

In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter in July, Nadler said that this bill would be a full repeal of DOMA, including Section 2, which advises states to disregard same-sex marriages that have been legally performed in other states, and Section 3, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

To all intents and purposes, if this bill is passed, it would be a back door recognition and acceptance of same-sex marriage.
As a candidate, then Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) supported full repeal of the legislation as a candidate for the presidency and as President, has reiterated that support in the White House.

"I believe it's discriminatory, I think it interferes with states' rights, and we will work with Congress to overturn it," Obama said of the law during an Oval Office signing ceremony in June.

National DOMA Protest in Chicago - Jan 2009

DOMA, as is the short title of the law, which is formally known as Public Law No. 104-199, 110 Stat. 2419, contains two significant stipulations, no state (or other political subdivision within the United States) needs to treat a relationship between persons of the same sex as a marriage, even if the relationship is considered a marriage in another state; and the federal government defines marriage as a legal union exclusively between one man and one woman. The bill was passed on Sept 21, 1996.

Nadler represents New York's 8th District, which includes parts of Manhattan's Upper West Side, most parts of Clinton, Chelsea, SoHo, Greenwich Village, TriBeCa, and Downtown Manhattan; and in Brooklyn, parts of Boro Park, Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Gravesend, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach, and Seagate.

Since its passage, there have been several unsuccessful attempts to repeal it, which has led individual states to pass their respective constitutional amendments, judicial decisions, and votes by the people, all as means of circumventing the DOMA. Most recently, the 2008 election, California's voters rejected Proposition 8 and a decision by the courts, which if passed would have allowed same-sex marriages.
DOMA protest in Chicago - March 2009
At midnight, into the morning of Sept 1, same-sex couples in Vermont were able to be wedded to each other when a new state law took effect. Other states that have allowed same-sex marriages include, Iowa, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, whose law is to take effect January 1. The nation's capital, the District of Columbia, approved a law recognizing gay marriages performed in states where it is legal.

On Sunday, Sept 13, more than 1,000 people are expected to gather in Augusta, ME to protest the state's law recognizing same-sex marriage. The groups organizing the protest include, Focus on the Family, The Maine Jeremiah Project, Family Research Council and Stand for Marriage Maine, which includes the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. On Nov. 3 Maine voters would be asked to decide on Question 1, which is a people's veto that seeks to overturn action by the Legislature and Gov. John Baldacci allowing gay marriage in the state.

Earlier this year, NY Gov. David Patterson introduced a bill recognizing same-sex marriage in the state, but though it had passed the State Assembly and was guaranteed passage through the State Senate, the bickering and power struggle that hamstrung the legislature in May and June, has delayed its passing.