It's hard to pinpoint the most misguided piece of legislation to come out of Washington over the past 15 years, particularly in light of the twisted logic of the Bush administration.
From my perspective, however, I'd have to choose the absurd Defense of Marriage Act. In the 13 years this law has been in effect, it has done little — if anything — to improve the state of heterosexual marriage. In fact, it isn't about protecting the sanctity of marriage. It's about oppressing one group of people, the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.
In effect, what DOMA does is allow the federal government to define marriage as a legal union exclusively between one man and one woman. No gays. No barnyard animals. Now, I was under the impression that the federal government was involved in the affairs of state, not affairs of the heart. This bill was introduced in the Senate by none other than Bob Barr (married three times, by the way) and passed as part of serial cheater Newt Gingrich's Contract with America. It was signed into law on Sept. 21, 1996, by none other than William Jefferson Clinton, turncoat. About two years after signing DOMA into law, Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky exploded throughout Washington, eventually leading to his impeachment.
Don't get me wrong. I don't really care about Bob Barr's inability to get it right personally. I don't care about Newt Gingrich's cheating ways, nor do I believe that Bill Clinton should ever have been impeached. Their sexual pursuits are their personal business. What really upsets me is the hypocrisy of it all. These three clowns have no business protecting marriage from anybody or anything. In fact, it would seem to me that marriage needs to be protected from them.
Here we are in 2009, 13 years after the passage of DOMA, and the GOP is owned by extreme right-wing Christian conservatives who insist on erasing the line between church and state. The passage of DOMA was the beginning of that unholy alliance. DOMA is less about protecting the sanctity of marriage than it is about blatant discrimination and bigotry.
In addition to allowing the federal government to define marriage, it also allows the government to deny legally married, same-sex couples more than 1,100 federal protections, including Social Security benefits, immigration benefits, family medical leave and hospital visitation rights. This absurd legislation is courtesy of the political party that insists it doesn't believe in big, intrusive government.
The time has come to dump DOMA and all it stands for.
DOMA's critics rightfully argue that it is unconstitutional on several grounds, including:
It exceeds congressional authority in violation of the Tenth Amendment.
Congress over-reached its authority under the Full Faith and Credit clause.
The law illegally discriminates and violates the Equal Protection clause.
DOMA violates the fundamental right to marriage under the due process clause.
Recently, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, along with Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Congressman Jarred Polis (D-Colo.), introduced the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA), which seeks to repeal both sections 2 and 3 of DOMA. The Respect for Marriage Act would eliminate the exception to the full faith and credit clause for married couples created under section 2 of DOMA. However, RFMA would leave it to the states to decide whether to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples from other states. Section 3 of DOMA arbitrarily denies same-sex couples the more than 1,100 federal benefits granted to heterosexual married couples. RFMA would require that the federal government treat all married couples equally.
It is time to dump DOMA and the bigotry that lies at its core. Members of the LGBT community pay taxes, go to work every day, take care of their families, struggle with finances and raise children. They are entitled to equal protection under the law.
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Deb Della Piana is a left-leaning corporate expatriate now residing in Amesbury with her partner, two children and three cats.
