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Repeal DOMA! Support The Respect for Marriage Act of 2009
State by state, we've been achieving marriage equality.
In the last year alone, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Iowa have joined Massachusetts and Connecticut to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples. Despite these victories, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prohibits federal recognition of these marriages. Many states use DOMA as their model for discrimination. Repealing DOMA is a crucial step forward.
Repealing DOMA is critical to ensuring that ALL marriages are treated equally for the federal government. Equality Federation and state equality groups (including Family Equality Coalition) have been working with national allies and members of Congress for several months to craft the Respect for Marriage Act of 2009, which would repeal the discrimination Defense of Marriage Act and require the federal government to recognize the legal marriages of same-sex couples.
Now we need your help!
Contact your Congressional Representative today. Tell them to cosponsor and vote for the Respect for Marriage Act of 2009.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act 2009
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
When DOMA was enacted in 1996, it rejected the right of states to ban marriage discrimination of same-sex couples. As more and more states affirm marriage equality, DOMA prevents legally married couples from fully protecting their families, caring for their loved ones, and being full and equal members of our society.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have families and want to provide those families with security, just like every American. But same-sex couples don't have the same rights or obligations under federal law that other couples and families have.
It is time to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. Please take a courageous stand for equality by cosponsoring The Respect for Marriage Act of 2009.
Without DOMA, religious institutions, states, or localities are still free to choose which marriages they'll recognize and celebrate. But without DOMA, loving same-sex couples will be able to fully nurture and support their families. Without DOMA, America is a fairer place.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
September 15, 2009
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Until DOMA was enacted in 1996, federal law deferred to states in determining who could marry and be considered married, and the principle of comity and constitutional guarantee of full faith and credit governed states’ obligations to honor marriages validly celebrated elsewhere. DOMA was an unprecedented departure from these long-established rules. Not only does DOMA purport to allow states to refuse to recognize valid civil marriages of same-sex couples (§ 2), it carves all same-sex couples, even those who have taken on the serious legal responsibilities of civil marriage and are recognized as married under state law, out of all federal statutes, regulations, and rulings applicable to all other married people (§ 3).
As a result, legally married same-sex spouses cannot:
· File their taxes jointly
· Receive spousal, mother’s and father’s, or surviving spouse benefits under Social Security even though they pay into Social Security throughout their careers
· Take unpaid leave to care for a sick or injured spouse
· Receive employer-provided family health benefits without paying an additional tax that different-sex spouses do not pay
· Receive the same family health and retirement/pension benefits as fellow married employees
· Be protected by the safe harbor provisions in bankruptcy law, Medicaid rules and other federal statutes that secure some resources and the family home when debts of one spouse threaten to leave both financially responsible spouses destitute.
Supporters of DOMA argued that it was necessary to promote family structures that are best for children, but since then, every credible medical, social science and child welfare organization has concluded that same-sex couples are equal parents. In fact, the federal government recently stated, in a federal court brief, that “the United States does not believe that DOMA is rationally related to any legitimate government interests in procreation and child-rearing and is therefore not relying upon any such interests to defend DOMA’s constitutionality.”
When DOMA was enacted, its harms were not yet fully appreciated because same-sex couples were not able to marry in any U.S. state. Since then, eight states and the District of Columbia have recognized equal marriage rights for same-sex couples, and thousands of couples have married. Because of DOMA, the federal government does not honor their legal commitment and the needs of their families, even though these couples have assumed the obligations of civil marriage under state law and contribute as citizens and taxpayers. DOMA undermines the very purposes of programs like Social Security and the Family and Medical Leave Act by making it more difficult for families to provide mutual support.
The Respect for Marriage Act repeals DOMA in its entirety, and ensures that valid marriages are respected under federal law, providing couples certainty that regardless of where they travel or move, they will not become strangers under federal law if a state refuses to recognize them as married for purposes of that state’s law.
The Respect for Marriage Act does not obligate any person, religious organization, locality, or state to celebrate or license a marriage between two persons of the same sex. The First Amendment protects the right of churches and religious bodies to determine the qualifications for religious marriage, and the Respect for Marriage Act cannot and will not upset that centuries-old protection.
The time to repeal DOMA is long overdue. Please support the Respect for Marriage Act and help end discrimination against families.
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