The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on legislation that would fully repeal the discriminatory and unconstitutional so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Thursday’s scheduled debate and vote on the Respect for Marriage Act (S. 598) follows a landmark hearing in July on how the law harms the more than 80,000 married same-sex couples — including their families — all across the country.
If Thursday’s vote is successful (call me cautiously optimistic), it will mark the first time since DOMA was signed into law in 1996 that a congressional committee will have taken the extraordinary step of actually voting to repeal it. It will also show that DOMA’s days are numbered. Whether this law is struck down by the courts or repealed by Congress, it will soon join “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in history’s dustbin — an ugly relic from a bygone, bigoted past. You can tune in and watch a live webcast of the Senate Judiciary Committee debate and vote on Thursday morning beginning at 10am by clicking here.
Finally, make sure you let your voice be heard loud and clear by calling your state senator. Treating certain married couples as legal strangers under the law simply based on their sexual orientation is senseless discrimination plain and simple. It’s time for it to end.
