The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM), the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay marriage, has
said it is certain Republicans will block an effort to repeal the
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in the U.S. Senate.
A Senate committee is expected on
Thursday, November 3 to approve a bill that would repeal the 1996 law
that bars federal agencies and the military from recognizing the
legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples.
A majority of the members on the Senate
Judiciary Committee support the bill, including its chairman, Vermont
Senator Patrick Leahy, making passage an almost foregone conclusion.
While the issue is a non-starter in the
House, where its speaker, John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, is
defending the law in court, passage in the Senate remains viable.
(Related: John
Boehner criticizes Obama's gay marriage decision.)
NOM spokesman Brian Duggan told
OneNewsNow.com
that he expects Republicans to filibuster the legislation if it
reaches the Senate floor.
“We feel very confident that they'll
do everything they can, but they are in the minority in the Senate,
of course,” Duggan said.
The United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops (USCCB) also is opposed to repeal.
“While all persons merit our full
respect, no other relationships provide for the common good what
marriage between husband and wife provides,” Archbishop Timothy
Dolan, president of the USCCB, recently
wrote in a letter urging President Obama to defend DOMA. “The
law should reflect this reality.”