Marriage for Same-Sex Couples

08/12/2011

The Congressional Evolution on DOMA

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 11:19am

There is an intriguing story behind the recent Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) headlines, one that mirrors trends in public opinion surveys, but involves a group you might not expect — members of Congress who voted for the law in 1996, but now favor its repeal.

Back in July, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a landmark hearing on DOMA, exploring how it impacts married gay and lesbian couples and their families across the country. The hearing got me thinking about the now infamous '96 congressional vote in favor of DOMA. Defenders of the law, exemplified by Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) at the July hearing, often like to tout the original congressional vote totals in support of DOMA (342 in the House and 85 in the Senate) as the end of the story. In essence, they say, why change a law that garnered so many bipartisan votes when it was passed?

07/27/2011

Defense of Marriage Act

The Happiest Day of My Life

By Patrick Plain, ACLU at 5:08pm

It had been five years since Seongman had proposed to me. It's been a long time since we bought and exchanged beautiful rings and registered as domestic partners to publicly show our love and devotion to one another. Since then we've lived a quiet, loving life, shared with our two dogs and two cats in our humble home. Life has been good, but we wanted the validation of marriage.

07/12/2011

Defense of Marriage Act

Landmark Hearing on DOMA Set

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 6:11pm

It’s official! Next week, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a landmark congressional hearing on the discriminatory so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and how it harms tens of thousands of married gay and lesbian couples and their families each and every day. This will be the first congressional hearing since the law came into being in 1996 to examine the law with a critical eye.

03/05/2013

Defense of Marriage Act

Historic Shift in Congress against DOMA Mirrors Shift in Public Opinion in Favor of Marriage for Same-Sex Couples

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 11:24am

On Friday, 212 members of Congress, 172 representatives and 40 senators, filed an historic brief in support of Edie Windsor's challenge to the discriminatory and unconstitutional so-called Defense of Marriage Act's (DOMA) exclusion of married same-sex couples from marriage-based federal responsibilities and rights.

10/16/2012

2012 Freedom to Marry Ballot Initiatives

The Freedom to Marry Hits the Airwaves

By Jill Barkley, ACLU of Maine & Meredith Curtis, ACLU of Maryland & Dean Jackson, ACLU of Washington & Jana Kooren, ACLU of Minnesota at 10:43am

Two weeks ago we brought you news about the four states that have marriage-related ballot initiatives this fall. As the election quickly approaches, each of the campaigns in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington have begun running television ads that highlight the stories of individuals, religious leaders, and community leaders who support the freedom to marry. These ads show the underlying issue at stake this fall – that marriage, both for straight and gay couples, is about building a life with someone and making a commitment to take care of and love one another.

10/02/2012

Marriage for Same-Sex Couples

Important Breakthrough for LGBT Immigrant Families

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office at 1:57pm

In August, over 80 members of Congress, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), wrote to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requesting recognition, explicitly and in writing, of the ties of a same-sex partner or spouse as a positive factor for determining discretionary relief in immigration cases. On Friday, it was reported that DHS had announced it would be issuing new, written guidance providing that relief to LGBT immigrant families.

10/01/2012

2012 Freedom to Marry Ballot Initiatives

The 2012 Freedom to Marry Ballot Initiatives: On the Ground in Four Key States

By Jill Barkley, ACLU of Maine & Meredith Curtis, ACLU of Maryland & Dean Jackson, ACLU of Washington & Jana Kooren, ACLU of Minnesota at 5:08pm

Marriage for same-sex couples is on the ballot in four states this November, and it will be a pivotal moment for the LGBT movement. In Maine, Maryland and Washington voters have the opportunity to expand the freedom to marry to same-sex couples; and Minnesota voters could make that state the first ever to defeat a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Even a single ballot box win would change the national debate and would reinforce the polls showing growing majorities across the country that support marriage for committed same-sex couples.

06/19/2012

Marriage for Same-Sex Couples

A Little Kitchen Conversation

By Kelli Evans, Associate Director of the ACLU of Northern California

ACLU Nor Cal’s Associate Director tells the story of how she responded when her 8-year-old daughter asked if lesbians were going to be banned and what would happen to their family.

Originally posted by the ACLU of Norther California.

06/06/2012

Defense of Marriage Act

Another DOMA Win!

By James Esseks, Director, ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & AIDS Project at 7:44pm

When it rains, it pours! Late this afternoon, another federal judge ruled that the so-called federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the federal constitution. The ruling came in an ACLU case brought by Edie Windsor after the death of her spouse and partner of 44 years, Thea Spyer.

Edie and Thea became a couple way back in 1965. By 1967, long before marriage for same-sex couples was anything more than a pipe dream, Thea proposed marriage to Edie – that’s just what their relationship meant to them. Thea couldn’t give her an engagement ring, because Edie wouldn’t have been able to explain it to her colleagues at IBM, so she gave her a diamond pin instead. They were inseparable for the next four decades.

05/31/2012

Defense of Marriage Act

ACLU Lens: Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down DOMA

By Robyn Shepherd, ACLU at 12:15pm

A federal appeals court in Massachusetts ruled today that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional because it denies married same-sex couples the same federal benefits available to other married couples.

The case, Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, was originally filed by GLAD on behalf of several married same-sex couples and widowers in Massachusetts in 2009. In 2010, a federal judge found that DOMA violated the equal protection clause of the Fifth Amendment. Today’s decision upholds that ruling.

American Civil Liberties Union