Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar favors
repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the Minnesota
Independent reported.
Klobuchar is one of only two Democrats
on the Senate Judiciary Committee who have yet to co-sponsor the
legislation. The other undeclared Democrat is Wisconsin Senator Herb
Kohl. No Republican members of the committee have publicly declared
their support for repeal.
DOMA bans federal recognition of the
legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples and allows states to
ignore the legal gay marriages of other states.
Democrats renewed an effort to repeal
the law after President Barack Obama announced he would no longer
defend the law in court. Obama said he believed parts of the law
were unconstitutional.
“I have spoken directly with Amy
Klobuchar's State Director,” Minnesota State Senator Scott Dibble
wrote on Facebook. “Senator Klobuchar will be voting for the
repeal of DOMA in the Senate Judiciary Committee.”
Klobuchar's support is critical for the
measure to reach the Senate floor. Kohl appears to hold the deciding
vote.
The
effort in the Senate to bury the law was introduced at a press
conference last week by California Senator Dianne Feinstein. The
Democrat announced her bill flanked by Democratic Senators Kirsten
Gillibrand of New York, Chris Coons of Delaware and Richard
Blumenthal of Connecticut. Feinstein, Coons and Blumenthal also
serve on the Judiciary Committee.