Herman Cain's call for an investigation
into President Barack Obama's decision to no longer defend a federal
ban on gay marriage has riled the National Organization for Marriage
(NOM).
The Republican presidential candidate
said during a conference call with reporters last week that the Obama
administration's position to no longer defend in court the Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA), the law that forbids federal agencies from
recognizing the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples, was an
impeachable offense.
“That's a great question and it is a
great – it would be a great thing to do but because the Senate is
controlled by Democrats we would never be able to get the Senate
first to take up that action, because they simply don't care what the
American public thinks. They would protect him and they wouldn't
even bring it up,” Cain said.
He added: “So the main stumbling
block in terms of getting him impeached on a whole list of things
such as trying to pass a health care mandate which is
unconstitutional, ordering the Department of Justice to not enforce
the Defense of Marriage Act – that's an impeachable offense right
there. The president is supposed to uphold the laws of this nation …
and to tell the Department of Justice not to uphold the Defense of
Marriage Act is a breach of his oath. … There are a number of
things where a case could be made in order to impeach him, but
because Republicans do not control the United States Senate, they
would never allow it to get off the ground.”
NOM, the nation's most vociferous
opponent of gay marriage, chided Cain, saying he needed to “pledge
to actions, not just words on marriage.”
“We need someone who does not just
talk the talk, but walks the walk on marriage. That's why we asked
all the GOP candidates to sign NOM's 5-point marriage pledge.
[Minnesota Rep. Michele] Bachmann, [former Pennsylvania Senator Rick]
Santorum, and [former Massachusetts Governor Mitt] Romney have. Why
hasn't Herman Cain?” asked Maggie Gallagher, board chair of NOM, in
a blog post.
“President Obama claimed he supported
traditional marriage but then failed to follow through. If Herman
Cain wants to distinguish his position from President Obama, he
should commit to concrete actions, not just rhetoric in support of
marriage,” she added.
Candidates signing NOM's pledge promise
to support a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage,
defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court, appoint judges
and an attorney general who will “respect the original meaning of
the Constitution,” appoint a presidential commission to investigate
the “harassment of traditional marriage supporters,” and back
legislation that would allow a ballot question on the issue for
voters of the District of Columbia.