Dueling Letters Show Congress' True Colors on DOMA

[William769]

While a letter from 133 House Democrats made clear today that they oppose the Defense of Marriage Act, another letter came from 86 House Republicans — including Michele Bachmann — that shows they not only support it but also want to go further.

The Republicans sent their letter to the U.S. Senate, making the case to party leaders that because DOMA applies to the military, same-sex couples should never be allowed to get married on bases or by military chaplains.

The Department of Defense does not agree, and it ruled in September that chaplains were beholden to state law and have the option to perform any "religious and other ceremonies" so long as state laws allow it. This, the Republicans say, is "circumventing the law."

DOMA specifically defines the word "marriage" or "spouse" so only straight couples are included whenever federal rules or laws are applied. But the Republicans point out that the military never said either of those words in issuing its guidance — a move they paint as winning on a technicality.

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/11/03/Dueling_Letters_Show_Congress_True_Colors_on_DOMA/

[Behind the Aegis]

1. 133!

The Members of the House of Representatives participating as amici include:
Nancy Pelosi, Steny H. Hoyer, James E. Clyburn, Jerrold Nadler, John Conyers, Jr.,Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin, Jared Polis, David N. Cicilline, Gary L. Ackerman, Janice Hahn, John W. Olver, Robert E. Andrews, Colleen W. Hanabusa, William L. Owens, Karen Bass, Alcee L. Hastings, Frank Pallone, Jr., Xavier Becerra, Martin Heinrich, Ed Pastor, Shelley Berkley, Brian Higgins, Donald M. Payne, Howard L. Berman, James A. Himes, Gary C. Peters, Timothy H. Bishop, Maurice D. Hinchey, Chellie Pingree, Earl Blumenauer, Mazie K. Hirono, David E. Price, Robert A. Brady, Kathy Hochul, Mike Quigley, Bruce L. Braley, Rush D. Holt, Charles B. Rangel, Lois Capps, Michael M. Honda, Laura Richardson, Michael E. Capuano, Jay Inslee, Steven R. Rothman, André Carson, Steve Israel, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Judy Chu, Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., Bobby L. Rush, Hansen Clarke, Sheila Jackson Lee, Tim Ryan, Yvette D. Clarke, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Linda T. Sánchez, Wm. Lacy Clay, Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr., Loretta Sanchez, Emanuel Cleaver, William R. Keating, John P. Sarbanes, Steve Cohen, Dennis J. Kucinich, Janice D. Schakowsky, Gerald E. Connolly, John B. Larson, Adam B. Schiff, Joe Courtney, Barbara Lee, Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, Joseph Crowley, Sander M. Levin, José E. Serrano, Danny K. Davis, John Lewis, Brad Sherman, Susan A. Davis, Zoe Lofgren, Louise McIntosh Slaughter, Diana DeGette, Nita M. Lowey, Adam Smith, Rosa L. DeLauro, Carolyn B. Maloney, Jackie Speier, Theodore E. Deutch Edward, J. Markey Fortney, Pete Stark, Lloyd Doggett, Doris O. Matsui, Mike Thompson, Michael F. Doyle, Carolyn McCarthy, John F. Tierney, Donna F. Edwards, Betty McCollum, Paul Tonko, Keith Ellison, Jim McDermott, Edolphus Towns, Eliot L. Engel, James P. McGovern, Niki Tsongas, Anna G. Eshoo, Jerry McNerney, Chris Van Hollen, Sam Farr, Gregory W. Meeks, Nydia M. Velázquez, Chaka Fattah, Brad Miller, Timothy J. Walz, Bob Filner, George Miller, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Marcia L. Fudge, Gwen Moore, Maxine Waters, John Garamendi, James P. Moran, Henry A. Waxman, Charles A. Gonzalez, Christopher S. Murphy, Peter Welch, Raúl M. Grijalva, Grace F. Napolitano, Lynn C. Woolsey, Luis V. Gutierrez, Richard E. Neal, John A. Yarmuth, Eleanor Holmes Norton (source)

Those who have evolved...

Among those Democrats signing onto the amicus curiae, 14 members — including Hoyer — voted for the bill’s passage in 1996. Reps. Jim Clyburn, Robert Andrews, Earl Blumenauer, Rosa DeLauro, Loyld Doggett, Michael Doyle, Bob Filner, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Sander Levin, Nita Lowey, Richard Neal, Ed Pastor and Bobby Rush also supported DOMA in 1996. Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee voted present.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67556.html#ixzz1ci1Je0XV