Earlier today, I attended a press conference hosted by Representative Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), at which he announced the formal introduction in Congress, with over 90 original co-sponsors no less, of the long-awaited “Respect for Marriage Act of 2009.” This much-anticipated legislation would fully repeal the mean-spirited and discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denies lawfully married gay and lesbian couples more than 1,100 federal rights and protections that are afforded to all opposite-sex married couples.

ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel Chris Anders speaks at a press conference on the introduction of the Respect for Marriage Act.

Just what are some of these protections you ask? Well, they include things like the ability to receive spousal survivor benefits under Social Security, taking unpaid leave to care for a sick or injured spouse, and being able to file taxes jointly, just to name a few.

In many respects, it is hard to imagine just how far we have come in the 13 years since DOMA was signed into law in 1996. Back then, gay and lesbian couples could not legally marry in any state. In fact, the concept of civil unions was considered pretty radical. By contrast, gay and lesbian couples today enjoy full marriage equality in six states from Maine to Iowa, with several others offering broad protections that fall short of marriage like civil unions and domestic partnerships. However, because of DOMA, even those couples who enjoy marriage equality at the state-level are denied every single one of the federal rights and protections that are given, almost as an afterthought, to opposite-sex married couples. Additionally, voters in Maine will soon decide a ballot measure that would strip away marriage rights from gay and lesbian couples in that state. I encourage everyone to check-out the website for “Vote No on 1/Protect Maine Equality” to find out more and learn how you can get involved.

Views on DOMA, even among one-time supporters like President Clinton and Members of Congress like former Representative and DOMA author Bob Barr, have changed over time and many now support its repeal. Additionally, President Obama has pledged his support for repealing DOMA.

As I listened to the morning press conference and speaker after speaker explain why repealing DOMA was so important, I could not quite shake another image from my mind — that of the long-extinct Dodo bird. As the Dodo has been extinct since the late 17^th century, all we have left of it are colorful paintings, fossils in museums and the phrase “going the way of the Dodo.” Thanks to the introduction of the Respect for Marriage Act, we are now just a little further along the path towards making DOMA go the way of the Dodo. And, unlike the harmless, fruit-eating, flightless Dodo, DOMA really has it coming!

Someday, hopefully in the not-too-distant future, we’ll be able to look back and view DOMA as just an ugly relic of history and a reminder of the need to remain vigilant and ever-focused on the struggle for fundamental fairness and equality. With the introduction of the Respect for Marriage Act, Congress has now taken the first step towards making that a reality.

This coming weekend will mark a historic anniversary for LGBT Americans. It will have been 40 years since an early summer evening in New York City’s Greenwich Village saw the birth of the modern gay rights movement. June 28, 1969 was the day when LGBT people fought back against government and police persecution in the form of raids and arrests at bars where people could socialize and meet others like themselves. The Stonewall Inn was the location where LGBT people refused to go quietly, humiliated, into the night.

In standing up for their rights, that small group of people laid the groundwork, at a time when being gay was still considered a mental disorder no less, for what would become a full-scale movement for equality for LGBT Americans. When you think about it, the progress that we have achieved in such a short amount of time is simply amazing, even with occasional setbacks and loses that are an inevitable aspect of any effort to expand civil rights.

Today, after years of little more than faint hope, Congress stands on the cusp of passing critical and long overdue employment protections for LGBT people. Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), one of just a handful of openly gay and lesbian Members of Congress, has just introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 (H.R. 3017). This legislation, commonly referred to as ENDA, would prohibit discrimination in employment based on an individual’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. It already has a bipartisan group of 117 co-sponsors, including the Chairmen of the powerful House Judiciary and Education and Labor Committees.

As a sign of the progress that the LGBT community has achieved over the past 40 years, nearly 90% of Fortune 500 companies have implemented non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation. Additionally, 20 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Twelve states include those protections for people who are transgender.

While these facts are certainly encouraging, there is an obvious gap in our civil rights laws that leave many LGBT people vulnerable to employment discrimination based purely on who they are. In 2007, the ACLU released a report entitled Working in the Shadows: Ending Employment Discrimination for LGBT Americans, which highlighted the stories of those who have been discriminated against in their jobs because they happen to be gay or transgender. Anyone who thinks this isn’t a serious problem or that Congress does not need to act should read the stories highlighted in this report.

This April, the ACLU won an important legal victory for a transgender veteran who was denied a job with the Library of Congress after she informed them of her intention to transition from male to female. And just yesterday, there was a story in The New York Timesabout how lawyers in the Obama administration are finalizing first-of-their-kind guidelines that will bar workplace discrimination against transgender federal employees.

Passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) will help to ensure that LGBT Americans will no longer need to live in fear at their jobs that they may be “outted” and lose their only means of survival or won’t even be given a chance because they are transgender. These are such basic protections that most people take them for granted. ACLU members and activists should contact their Members of Congress and urge them to finally pass this legislation.

As those of us who happen to be part of the LGBT community remember the historic 40th anniversary of Stonewall, I can think of no better way for Congress to show its commitment to equality and fairness for all Americans than by passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009.

What a week it's been! On Monday and Tuesday, dozens of dedicated advocates from across the country were here in Washington to meet with Members of Congress about the pressing need to finally (after nearly 23 years) eliminate the infamous 100-to-1 crack sentencing disparity.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice, for the first time, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee and stated that it is the administration's position that Congress should act this year to completely eliminate the disparity.

And now today, both The New York Times and The Boston Globe have great editorials highlighting the testimony from this week's congressional hearing and urge Congress to step-up to the plate to finally end this glaring injustice in our criminal justice system.

This is about making sure those moving words carved over the entrance to the Supreme Court - Equal Justice Under Law - are good for more than tourist pictures on a summer afternoon.

As The Globe observed today:

In poignant testimony following Breuer's, Judge Reggie Walton, an African-American who was appointed to the federal judiciary by Ronald Reagan and rose up the ranks under George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, declared that "jails are loaded with people who look like me." The law created such mistrust that jurors often told him after trials that they could not convict, even if a defendant seemed guilty, because the mandatory sentence was so Draconian.

They end their editorial by stating:

What's sad is that this did not happen until America had a president who can look into the jails and feel the sting of seeing how loaded they are with people who look just like him.

It is certainly sad that it has taken over two decades to get to this point. However, now that it has arrived, we need to seize the moment and the momentum by FINALLY ending this injustice. Let's keep the pressure on!

What a momentous day it was here in Washington!

Earlier today, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs held a hearing on the 100-to-1 crack vs. powder cocaine sentencing disparity. There were many excellent witnesses who powerfully presented the case for reform, including the former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Asa Hutchinson.

Without question, the highlight of the morning’s hearing was the testimony of Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer (PDF). Assistant Attorney General Breuer, in very direct language, laid out the administration’s position on this issue. In short, the Obama administration wants Congress to act this year to completely eliminate the crack sentencing disparity.

This is indeed excellent news and to have the backing of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is going to go a long way towards helping us finally end this injustice. However, it won’t happen without the support and dedication of people throughout the country. We are heading into the bottom of the 9th, let’s not stop now. Join the ACLU in calling for Congress to end this unjust sentencing disparity.