House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is
calling on House Speaker John Boehner to reconsider intervening in
another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA).
DOMA is the Clinton-era law which bars
federal agencies from recognizing the legal marriages of gay and
lesbian couples.
On Tuesday, gay weekly Metro
Weekly reported that the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory
Group (BLAG) filed a motion asking the court to grant it intervenor
status in a lawsuit filed by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
(SLDN) on behalf of LGBT service members, veterans and their spouses.
BLAG has intervened in 12 DOMA-related
cases since President Barack Obama instructed the Department of
Justice to no longer defend the law in court.
Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Pelosi,
criticized Boehner for the move.
“Without a vote or any specific
authorization of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG), Speaker
Boehner is intervening in yet another case regarding the
constitutionality not only of Section 3 of DOMA, but also the
provision of Title 38 that cover military and veterans' benefits,”
Hammill said in a statement.
“The men and women of the U.S. Armed
Forces risk their lives for the country they love and do not deserve
to face prejudice, especially from our nation’s elected leaders,
when they return home. Speaker Boehner should grant the request of
Leader Pelosi and Whip Hoyer for a vote of the BLAG on the expanded
DOMA defense efforts regarding veterans' cases and allow the
Committee on House Administration and the Ethics Committee to review
any new contracts or additional expenditures of taxpayer funds.”