Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank on
Thursday said he was “pleased but not surprised” that an appeals
court in Boston had ruled the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
unconstitutional.
The 3-judge panel unanimously
upheld a lower district court's ruling declaring unconstitutional the
heart of DOMA – Section 3, which bars federal agencies from
recognizing the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples.
Frank, who came out gay 25 years ago,
plans to marry his long-time boyfriend Jim Ready next month in
Massachusetts.
(Related: Barney
Frank: Obama's secret service would ruin my wedding.)
“I was hoping it would happen, it's
happening more quickly than I wanted it to, not as quickly as it
should,” Frank said of increasing support for gay rights during an
appearance Thursday on CNN. “We're talking about a prejudice that
never had any rational basis in the first place. I think what's
happening is that reality defeats prejudice.”
“When we talk honestly about our
sexuality it's called coming out. When the heterosexual majority
does it it's called talking. And we all talk about our sexuality and
that's helped defeat the prejudice. Marriage is an example,” he
added. (Watch
the entire segment on CNN.)