Jan
22
DOMA, or the Defense of Marriage Act, was enacted under the Clinton administration in 1996. It had two main purposes (from Wikipedia):
- No state need treat a relationship between persons of the same sex as marriage, even if it is considered a marriage in another state. Protection of Individual State Rights
- The Federal Government may not treat same-sex relationships as marriages for any purpose, even if concluded or recognized by one of the states. New Federal Government Regulations.
DOMA has withstood both the Clinton and Bush administrations with no changes. President Obama has repeatedly stated he opposed DOMA and would work to repeal the law. Let’s hope he understands the purpose of the act.
I agree with part of this statement. Function 2 of the act (the part instructing the Federal Government’s treatment of same-sex marriage) is not a moral and just law. The Federal Government should not be allowed to interfere in the people’s rights or with their locally elected government.
Function 1, administering the right of any state to not recognize a marriage created in a different state, is completely Constitutional. Local government governs best. If a population of a state prefers to allow or disallow same-sex marriage let them decide on their own. One state may not have the ability to demand another to follow its own laws.
To be frank, I hope that all states will allow same-sex marriage. What someone does in their own life is of now concern to me. As long as someone else isn’t attempting to force their beliefs upon me let them do what they want! We are a Free nation! Let people be who they are without government interference.
DOMA was, in my opinion, an honest attempt to protect the rights of the states. That the Federal Government was included was unfortunate and wrong. It tried to stop (or at least delay) the groundswell of lawsuits attempting to bend the courts into allowing same-sex marriage. Legislation should be done by the elected officials in, of all things, the Legislature. Unfortunately, many on both sides of the aisle attempt to use the courts to create laws, not rulings.
Repealing DOMA will open the gates and potentially cause turmoil in the courts (both state and federal) and even between states with opposing laws. Is it time to amend the Defense of Marriage Act to remove the over-reaching powers granted to the Federal Government? Yes! Should we continue with a law to protect the states’ rights? Definitely.
