If you're on Senator Leahy's e-mail list you might have received this e-mail from Senator Leahy:
I've got great news to report: Today, by a 10-8 vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Respect for Marriage Act, legislation that would repeal DOMA and ensure the equality of all state-sanctioned marriages!
This is an historic milestone in our ongoing fight for freedom and equality. But we're not done yet. Next, the Respect for Marriage Act heads to the floor where I hope it will be debated and passed by the full Senate soon.
Six states, including Vermont, and the District of Columbia now recognize that all of their citizens have the freedom to marry, including same-sex couples. But because of DOMA, thousands of American families are being treated unfairly by the federal government.
This is wrong — and we've got to change it. We must repeal DOMA to ensure the freedom and equality of all of our citizens.
Thank you for your continued support in this critical fight.
Sincerely,
Patrick Leahy
U.S. Senator
Great news from Senator Leahy.
What happens from here? It's pretty obvious, right? The Republicans use the filibuster rule to block consideration of the legislation on the floor, once again demonstrating their anti-gay bigotry and their willingness to stand in the way of the will of the majority.
That, however, is progress.
And I thought for a moment how fortunate we are that, despite the worst efforts by the lunatic right, common sense and human decency creep steadily forward.
We give our Elder Statesman a lot of grief when we he doesn’t quite measure-up to our progressive landmarks; but I think we have to concede that he stands almost alone among senators enjoying the power of such advanced seniority, in that he has never been co-opted by the right and continues to be in there using his political skill and influence to lend a voice to generally progressive policy, that far outweighs the size of his constituency.
We would be a much smaller state in the eyes and ears of the nation, were it not for the decades of Patrick Leahy on the hill.
This is as good an opportunity as any to echo Jack’s “Thank you, Senator Leahy!”