Statement by NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter (San Francisco, CA, February 23, 2011)—President Barack Obama has decided that the government should no longer defend Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which discriminates against legally married same-sex couples by providing that the federal government will not recognize their marriages for any purpose, according to a statement released today by the Attorney General of the United States. The Attorney General explained the...
Tag
Defense of Marriage Act
Today brings momentous news from President Barack Obama and the federal Department of Justice about the discriminatory and offensive so-called “Defense of Marriage Act,” or DOMA. This morning, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that, at the urging of the President, as well as based upon Mr. Holder’s own assessment, the Department of Justice will no longer defend Section 3 of DOMA—the section that prohibits the federal government from recognizing legal marriages between same-sex couples....
(San Francisco, CA, September 18, 2009)— Today, the Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss in Gill v. Office of Personnel Development, a federal lawsuit challenging Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which excludes same-sex couples from all federal benefits and protections given to heterosexual married couples. A statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. “We are disappointed that the Justice Department continues to advance what we believe are...
(San Francisco, California, September 15, 2009) — The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) applaud lawmakers for introducing legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a law that discriminates against lawfully married same-sex couples. Through DOMA, the federal government selectively denies same-sex couples more than 1,100 federal protections and responsibilities, including Social Security and immigration benefits, that apply...
(San Francisco, CA, August 17, 2009)— The Department of Justice filed its reply brief today in Smelt v. United States, a federal lawsuit challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which excludes same-sex couples from all federal benefits and protections given to heterosexual married couples. A statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. “We appreciate that the Department of Justice has acknowledged that DOMA is a blatantly discriminatory measure that must be...
(San Francisco, CA, June 12, 2009)—We are very surprised and deeply disappointed in the manner in which the Obama administration has defended the so-called Defense of Marriage Act against Smelt v. United States, a lawsuit brought in federal court in California by a married same-sex couple asking the federal government to treat them equally with respect to federal protections and benefits. The administration is using many of the same flawed legal arguments that the Bush administration used....
Jennifer Tobits and Sarah Ellyn Farley married in Toronto in 2006. Two weeks after their wedding, Ellyn was diagnosed with cancer. The Chicago couple fought the disease together for their entire marriage, until Ellyn passed away in September 2010. Because Ellyn’s parents had never accepted her marriage to Jennifer, they feared that Ellyn’s parents would make legal claims to their property and generally attack Jennifer’s status as Ellyn’s spouse. Shortly after...