John Kerry was most recently on our radar for his attempt to get asylum for a Brazlian man who feared persecution at home. Now he’s generated another blip: The U.S. senator from Massachusetts supports his state’s attorney general suing the federal government over DOMA.
In a statement released yesterday, Kerry applauds Attorney General Martha Coakley’s move. Though it shouldn’t be surprising: He voiced support for GLAD’s anti-DOMA lawsuit in March and has been vocal about killing the law. (Vocal, of course, is not the same as active.)
Kerry, you’ll recall, did not vote for DOMA — he spoke on the Senate floor against it, and voted that way too. Though he doesn’t support same-sex marriage recognition at the federal level, he was against his own state’s version of DOMA as well, and supports civil unions. But he hails from a state where gay marriage is legal — the first state that made it so. And his support for the DOMA lawsuit only further cements Massachussets as among the most progressive in the union.
Is it going too far to say Kerry’s support of these lawsuits represents his support of full-blow marriage rights? Yes, perhaps. But it does show Kerry wants to keep marriage regulation in the hands of the states, where it was until the feds got involved in 1996.
How about we take this to the next level?
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But while a press release announcing his backing for Coakley’s lawsuit is encouraging, we also need action in Congress. Routing this through the court’s is one strategy, but Kerry must work with fellow senators on the Hill to repeal the law — and send it to President Obama, who says he’ll sign it.
flybob
‘Routing this through the court’s is one strategy …’ Through the court’s *what*?
Phoenix (The Pinko Commie Atheist Faggot)
Oh, John Kerry, you and Howard Dean are such sexy beasts!
tagada
yes, it’s good enough. at least he still finds the courage to stand up against what he thinks is unfair. gotta love him, no matter what!
i’m supportive to kerry 100prcent, because he is so much better thant the hypocrite who’s leading america right now…
karenc
You ask:
“Is it going too far to say Kerry’s support of these lawsuits represents his support of full-blow marriage rights? Yes, perhaps.”
Senator Kerry has always been 100% for the full federal rights for recognized unions. In 2004, he spoke of wanting legislation that would give the same rights for civil unions that marriage had. In 2008, in response to a question asked at Tufts University, he reiterated that he always for “rights” and agreed that in Massachusetts, marriage was settled law. Here’s a link to a video that Q&A – http://www.bluemassgroup.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=13677
John Smith
No Senator has introduced a bill to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Why doesn’t Senator Kerry sponsor the repeal?