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 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,

Campaign Launched:
September 14, 2009

Background Information

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).

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.