Over DOMA? Tell Senator Nelson to Support the Respect for Marriage Act
Respect Marriage End DOMA
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The path to full marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples has been challenging and exhilarating and finally we've reached a tipping point moment.
Public opinion has shifted dramatically in the direction of equality. More Americans from both sides of aisle and across religious traditions are recognizing the importance of marriage equality. However, one of the biggest obstacles that remains is the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
Passed 15 years ago, DOMA bars the federal government from recognizng legally married gay and lesbian couples and allows individual states to do the same.
But there is good news. The Obama administration's Department of Justice now refuses to enforce portions of DOMA that have been deemed unconstitutional and addition legal challenges will likely deal more crucial blows to this law that denies couples the 1,138 federal protections that come with marriage.
While those legal developments unfold there is a step that each of us can take right now to end DOMA for good. The Respect for Marriage Act has been introduced into Congress to repeal DOMA. President Obama supports it, the bill has 120 cosponsors in the House, and 28 in the Senate, but Senator Bill Nelson has not yet signed on.