House Democrats take stand against DOMA

More than 130 House Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), today filed an amicus brief against the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) to bolster litigation challenging the anti-marriage-equality law. Read more here.

The brief was filed in the case of Karen Golinski v. Office of Personnel Management, which has reached the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals following a federal district court ruling that a key section of DOMA is unconstitutional.

The Obama adminstration announced last year that it would no longer defend DOMA, saying the law was unconstitutional. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) convened an advisory panel to direct the House General Counsel to defend DOMA in court.

Darlene Nipper, deputy executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, says:

Brick by brick, the wall of marriage discrimination is coming down. Certain members of Congress seem terrified at the prospect of loving, committed families being treated fairly. In their frantic effort to buttress the wall, they will find themselves on the wrong side of history. In defending the indefensible DOMA, they are toying with people’s lives, squandering taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars, and belittling America’s deeply held values of freedom and fairness. We thank the many House members who signed on to today’s amicus brief against DOMA, choosing to support fairness and families over divisiveness and discrimination.