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25 Feb 2012 11:13

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U.S.: Vermont same-sex couple vows to fight DOMA, deportation

  • How can our country, with a President who knows discrimination in his core, how can they continue to uphold DOMA?
  • Vermont resident Frances Herbert • Discussing the issues her wife, Takaka Ueda, is facing. Herbert is legally married to Ueda — a native of Japan and her partner of 13 years — and in shock, after the Department of Homeland Security sent a letter denying Ueda’s request to stay in the country. Ueda moved to the US from Japan in 1999, but is now living in the country illegally and faces deportation. Vermont’s congressional delegation has even stepped in, submitting a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, asking them to reconsider. Now the couple plans to fight the ruling, and the Defense of Marriage Act in general, in hopes of preventing this from happening to anyone else. Think they’ll succeed? source
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Oct 2011 15:12

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Politics: House GOP triples budget to fight same-sex marriage

  • $1.5 million in funding to prevent gays from marrying source
  • » Don’t forget, this is taxpayer money, allocated by House Republicans to their legal counsel to defend DOMA in court. It was originally capped at $500,000, but that limit has since been tripled.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Oct 2011 20:08

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Politics: Human Rights Campaign: No surprises from Obama, but a victory lap

  • There was no open support of gay marriage in tonight’s speech, but Obama did speak out in favor of more equality for gays. The president, fresh off his success with the full repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” continued pushing for his view on the Defense of Marriage Act — “It should join ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ in the history books,” he said — and emphasized the hard work that he’s done for the gay rights movement over the past three years. (He also, when bringing up his jobs bill, dropped a couple of government-related lines that will anger those on the right, such as “I believe in a big America”.) While Obama has yet to come out in support for gay marriage (perhaps his most puzzling view), he has done more for gay rights than any president, ever. Still, his view on gay marriage is one that was likely on the minds of many listening to Obama. Here’s how his views have changed on the still-controversial issue over the years:
  • 2004 While he was still in the Illinois State Senate and running for U.S. Senate, a former aide claims that Obama he supported gay marriage at the time.
  • 2008 When he ran for president, however, Obama made it clear that while he supported civil unions, he did not support gay marriage.
  • 2010 Obama’s views on gay marriage began evolving; as of 2011, the Obama administration no longer enforces the Defense of Marriage Act. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 May 2011 10:16

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U.S., World: Navy’s forward-thinking gay marriage stance folds amid pressure

  • forward … Earlier this week, the Navy (the most progressive of the military branches, apparently) announced they would let their chaplains perform gay marriages if the Pentagon gives the all-clear for openly gay service members. Gay rights advocates cheered.
  • … and back Unfortunately, Congress did not cheer. More than 60 House members pressured the Navy to reverse course, saying it violated the Defense of Marriage Act. The Navy backed down. Boo. One step forward for gay rights, then two big steps back. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Feb 2011 23:23

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Politics: Mike Huckabee: Obama’s DOMA move conflicts with voters’ views

  • Mike Huckabee no likey what the DOJ did today. The social conservative, who looks like a reasonable bet as a 2012 candidate, gives an interestingly socioeconomic view of why Obama’s move to not defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court is a bad idea. We disagree with him but note that his argument that voters have turned it down at the ballot negates the fact that the public’s views have shifted recently. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Feb 2011 21:21

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U.S.: Edith and Thea: The women behind Obama’s DOMA reversal

  • Meet Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer. This trailblazing couple lived together for 44 years – long before gay rights were recognized and respected. The couple married in Canada in 2007 and lived in New York, where their marriage rights were recognized. Their story is even the subject of a documentary. Spyer, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, died in 2009 at age 77. Windsor, 81, wasn’t recognized as Spyer’s wife due to DOMA and had to pay $350,000 in inheritance taxes after Spyer’s death. So, as one might do when forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars over a law they don’t like, she sued the government. (A male couple, Gerald V. Passaro II and Thomas M. Buckholz, did the same in similar circumstances.) Let’s just emphasize – someone being forced to pay $350,000 in inheritance taxes after their spouse dies, just because they’re the same sex as the person they love? It’s no wonder Obama backed down. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Feb 2011 12:42

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U.S.: More on Obama’s reversal on the Defense of Marriage Act

  • The President believes that DOMA is unconstitutional. They are no longer going to be defending the cases in the 1st and 2nd circuits.
  • A so-called anonymous source talking to the National Journal • Explaining what the whole Obama-DOJ-not-defending the Defense of Marriage Act means for current court cases. Let’s be clear, though – the law is still law, but Obama will choose not to have his people take it to court, because he feels that the law will not pass muster. This is not a step he takes lightly, though. Obama also, in a note, told Congress that if they want to defend the statute, they still can. But his folks won’t mess with it. Obama supports repeal of the bill, but the DOJ has defended DOMA in court as recently as January. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

23 Feb 2011 12:28

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U.S.: Obama to DOJ: Stop defending Defense of Marriage Act in court

  • then Obama held onto the belief that gay marriage shouldn’t be legalized for far longer than a lot of people expected him to. Then he evolved. It was kinda weird.
  • now Now, he wants the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court, saying it’s unconstitutional. Wow, big deal kids. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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