DOMA

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a measure repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA says the government recognizes only those marriages between a man and a woman. When the law passed 15 years ago, not one state recognized same-sex marriage. Six do now, as well as DC. Democrat Dianne Feinstein [pic] is sponsoring the Respect for Marriage Act, which would entirely repeal DOMA. Each of the Judiciary Committee's 10 Democrats voted for the repeal; all eight Republicans were opposed. For now, any change in the law is likely to come through the courts.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein, Patrick Leahy, and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced a bill that would repeal the federal government's ban on same-sex marriage, and President Obama is supporting it. The president has "long called for a legislative appeal for the so-called Defense of Marriage Act which continues to have a real impact on families," White House spokesman Jay Carney announced. The president is “proud to support” the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, Carney said.

A law firm hired by Republicans is dropping its work defending the federal ban on marriage equality amid criticism by advocacy groups.

King & Spalding chairman Robert Hays Jr. said that the Atlanta-based firm had filed a motion to withdraw from its involvement in fighting challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA].

Family Equality Council, America’s foremost advocate for LGBT family equality, offers its full support for the Respect for Marriage Act just introduced in the U.S. Senate. “For LGBT families raising children, marriage is more than just benefits and protections,” said Family Equality Council Executive Director Jennifer Chrisler. “Marriage is also an institution that carries with it a universal definition of family.

The highest-profile openly gay lawmaker in the US predicts that we soon could see an end to legalized discrimination based on sexual orientation. "We are on the verge of major breakthroughs," Representative Barney Frank told the Reuters Face of the Future Summit. He's positive about President Obama's decision to stop defending DOMA, and a vote by Congress that will lead to an end of the ban on gays serving openly in the military.

“As a Member of the Judiciary Committee, it is my intention to introduce legislation that will once and for all repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. My own belief is that when two people love each other and enter the contract of marriage, the Federal government should honor that. I opposed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. It was the wrong law then; it is the wrong law now; and it should be repealed."

President Obama has urged lawmakers to repeal the '96 Defense of Marriage Act. But now his administration, for the first time, may be required to take a definitive stand on questions like whether gays have been unfairly stigmatized, are politically powerful, and can choose to change their sexual orientation.