New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler and
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on Sunday renewed calls for repeal of the
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
The lawmakers called on Congress to end
the law that bans federal agencies from recognizing the legal
marriages of gay and lesbian couples as New York became the sixth –
and most populous – state to endorse marriage equality.
“Today marks the first day that gay
and lesbian New Yorkers can legally marry and, for the first time,
same-sex couples are now equal in the eyes of State law,” said
Congressman Nadler.
“We should savor this historic
moment, but there is still work to be done. Through DOMA, the
federal government is actively discriminating against legally married
same-sex couples – New Yorkers now among them – and refusing to
recognize their marriages. This unjust and counterproductive law
forces married gay and lesbian couples to endure dramatic financial
and legal hardship, and this is utterly indefensible.”
Nadler first introduced a bill in 2009
that would repeal DOMA. The proposed legislation recently
received a Senate hearing, but House Majority Leader John Boehner
on Thursday said DOMA “should remain the law of the land.”
Portions of the act, which became law
in 1996 under the Clinton administration, have been declared
unconstitutional. President Barack Obama earlier this year decided
to no longer defend the law in court and he
has endorsed repeal.
“New York is sending a powerful
message to the rest of the nation today as we once again lead the way
for equal rights,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The right to get
married and start a family is a basic, human right that must be
shared by all Americans. Every loving, committed couple in America
deserves this right. And no politician should stand in the way of
this fact. But as hundreds of loving, committed couples celebrate
this historic day by finally being able to marry the person they
love, the fact remains that the federal Defense of Marriage Act will
continue to discriminate against these loving committed couples. The
work for full marriage equality is not done. If Democrats and
Republicans can come together to do what’s right in New York, I
know we can do the same in Congress to do what’s right for all of
America. Now is the time to repeal this corrosive policy.”