Could Washington D.C. actually see some movement on repealing the Defense of Marriage Act? The 13-year-old law, which lets the federal government and other states ignore legal same-sex marriages, is the target of Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who’s said to be working on a bill to in the next few weeks. Though Politico‘s Glenn Thrush notes, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may be too busy with other bills to back this one. (Nadler voted against a constitutional amendmend banning same-sex marriage, but did not vote for adding sexual orientation to workplace discrimination protections.)
And even if the House did get behind a DOMA repeal? Good luck getting it through the Senate, which operates on a time delay with the rest of society.
So what we have here is movement. But it’s maybe the first mile marker of the marathon.
schlukitz
It’s a start….
Cam
We’re slowly finding out who our staunch allies in congress are. Good for Jerry Nadler!
RM
Nadler has been an ally for years. He’s been a chief sponsor for the Permanent Partners Immigration Act, to let us sponsor foreign-born partners for citizenship.
Popsnap
Good. Let’s see some actual movement this session of Congress after that reccess, because we ALL need it.
The Democrats will have an “approval” vote from me if they repeal DOMA, repeal DADT, and pass the healthcare bill.
Will
Nadler voted against ENDA because of it’s lack of protections for transgender people, as did a number of other progressive Democrats in the House. Simply saying that “he didn’t vote for adding sexual orientation to workplace non-discrimination statutes” gives the false impression that Nadler has been anything but a 100 percent ally of the community. No member of Congress has been more supportive and outspoken in favor of LGBT rights.