A lot of what Obama has done has been a big disappointment, to me no less than to other liberals. I constantly hear people saying that Obama is no different from Bush, or from what McCain would have been if he’d been elected.
Today we have more proof that these claims are just wrong.
As of today, the Justice Department will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court.
Andrew Cohen reports in Politics Daily:
In announcing the surprise move, Attorney General Holder wrote: “After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny. The President has also concluded that Section 3 of DOMA, as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional. Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute in such cases. I fully concur with the President’s determination.
Part of our job as progressive activists is to push our elected officials farther than they want to go.
They deserve credit when they get a big decision like this right.
Related
The DOJ will not defend against the two lawsuits pending in the 2nd District that specifically challenge SECTION 3 (only), and “similar” cases. I believe that’s the part where legally married same-sex couples in which one spouse works for or is retired from federal employment are denied federal benefits available to spouses of federal workers.
It doesn’t affect tax filing status or social security payments or taxes on imputed income for health insurance for same-sex spouses.
So every time there’s a big headline like we’re about to see, everyone decides the discrimination is over, the problem is solved, hoo-ray.
I’m glad for the few thousand same-sex couples married in the states where marriage equality is the law (Iowa, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut). However …
Federal discrimination against same-sex couples continues. The Obama Administration has no more “fixed” or “abandoned” DOMA than the military has implemented the “repeal” of DADT. Hoo-rah.
NanuqFC
[T]he rights afforded every citizen under our Constitution mean nothing if we do not protect those rights — both from unjust laws and violent acts. ~ US President Barack Obama (emphasis added)