The White House took another step in support of marriage equality when press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday that President Barack Obama will endorse Senator Dianne Feinstein's Respect for Marriage Act to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.
The president's support for repealing DOMA came one day before the first hearing on repealing the hideous law and marks yet another step on his path to embracing marriage equality. At the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, several gays and lesbians testified about the harm DOMA has caused for them, their families, and the community at large.
DOMA, which was passed in 1996, is the stranglehold that prevents married same-sex couples from receiving all the benefits that opposite-sex married couples receive.
Among those testifying was Ron Wallen from Indio, California, who recounted the many changes he has had to endure following the death of his husband of 55 years. While the couple were legally married in 2008, they had been together for decades. Wallen, 77, has seen his monthly income slashed to $900 (from $3,050) because he cannot receive his deceased spouse's Social Security benefits, as would be the case if the spouse of an opposite-sex couple died.
Likewise, Connecticut resident Andrew Sorbo, who is 64, lost his husband of nearly 30 years. They were married in that state, but after his husband's death, Sorbo had to struggle with picking up the pieces.
"DOMA hung over us," he told the committee.
Much of the testimony at the hearing touched on the financial aspects of DOMA, and there are many: Social Security, the estate tax, health insurance. There are also others, such as being unable to sponsor a same-sex spouse for immigration purposes.
Children, of course, were another focal point of the hearing. But committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) eviscerated Thomas Minnery, senior vice president of Focus on the Family, when he sought to determine whether children of same-sex couples are at a disadvantage because of DOMA. Grudgingly, Minnery had to acknowledged that yes, they are.
Witnesses such as Democratic Representatives Jerrold Nadler (New York) and John Lewis (Georgia) both offered powerful statements about how discrimination is wrong. Lewis, a veteran of the civil rights movement, said, "The Defense of Marriage Act is a stain on our democracy." Nadler derided opponents who maintain children are better off with opposite-sex parents, saying there is no credible support for that argument.
The Senate committee hearing was also a good first step for Congress. The Senate, controlled by Democrats, might be able to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, but the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, with its many tea party members, is highly unlikely to approve it, if a vote is even held. That means it's critical that in next year's election, either Democrats take back control of the House or enough moderate Republicans are elected and some of the ultra-conservative tea partiers are tossed out of office. In order for the bill to proceed, we need a supportive majority in the House, whatever that looks like. It is also crucial that Democrats maintain control of the Senate.
We saw that supportive majority in the Senate in action on Monday, when openly gay attorney J. Paul Oetken was confirmed as a federal judge, a first. The Senate vote was 80-13, meaning many Republicans voted for him.
We urge Congress to keep pushing for DOMA repeal. Every time there's a hearing on this unfair law, more minds are changed, as more people realize how discriminatory DOMA is.