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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

Pick Rick? Former Republican senator Rick Santorum has officially announced his candidacy for President in 2012. We’ll admit, we were surprised when we long ago heard he might run, as we figured any candidate whose name can’t be safely Googled would be advised by strategists to sit it out. For perspective on his political stripes, here Santorum brings up gay marriage as an example of Obama devaluing our “moral currency.” The fact that he uses this rhetoric in his announcement speech is telling — that’s what he wants to be talking about, not currency standards. And in a country that seems to care less and less about who wants to fall in love and get married, this could very well be the last stand for one of America’s most strident political culture warriors. source

Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

For a big law firm with an international reputation like King and Spalding, this could have gotten very ugly for them. This kind of thing could have stuck to them for decades. People no longer want to be associated with this kind of discrimination.
Richard Socarides, gay rights advocate • Speaking about legal firm King and Spalding withdrawing from their plan to defend the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) in service of the House GOP. The decision has caused a split within the firm, as Paul Clement, one of the partners involved with the case, has resigned in protest and will continue to work for DOMA’s defense, saying that even unpopular causes deserve legal representation. Socarides disagrees, claiming the law is discriminatory and thus is un-American, and that there’s no merit in defending such a cause. We agree in the moral sense, perhaps, but ultimately Clement is correct — legal representation is a keystone of our system of justice, and even though King and Spalding has every right not to take this case, at some point some lawyer does have to step up, personal beliefs aside. source

Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

yesterday The Obama Administration advanced on what’s been an agonizingly slow process of hedging and pivoting on gay marriage, as they no longer plan to defend the DOMA in federal court. The announcement was rejoiced by marriage equality activists, as it showed a shift in the President’s publicly stated views.
today House Democrats (headed by NY Rep. Jerry Nadler) moved to repeal the DOMA, which will almost assuredly fail in a Republican dominated chamber, but does thrust the issue squarely back into the national consciousness. Barack Obama could be the most pro-gay President in American history if he just steps out on this. source

Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

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