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Defense of Marriage Act
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NCLR Legal Analysis: President Obama Defends Justice by Rejecting DOMA
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....Press Release
Statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell on Department of Justice’s Motion to Dismiss Federal Challenge to DOMA
(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...Press Release
NCLR and NBJC Hail Introduction of Congressional DOMA Repeal
(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...Press Release
Statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell on Department of Justice ReplyBrief in Challenge to the Federal Defense of Marriage Act
(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...Press Release
LGBTQ Legal Groups Decry Obama Administration’s Defense of DOMA
(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....Cases & Advocacy