Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says that she supports extending civil rights to all LGBT Americans, and we have to make sure that Sen. Gillibrand makes good on her support by filing legislation, which would add "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Call : 1 (212) 688-6262.
Showing posts with label Defense of Marriage Act. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Defense of Marriage Act. Show all posts
Letter from US General Accounting Office (GAO) to Sen. Bill Frist (R), the Senate Majority Leader, about the 1,138 marriage rights denied to LGBT committed couples, who cannot be legally married under the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The GOA described these as : "1,138 federal statutory provisions classified to the United States Code in which marital status is a factor in determining or receiving benefits, rights, and privileges."
Invitation to Wedding and Covenant to End DOMA at The Riverside Church (Fundraiser)
On Sunday, October 30, 2011, TJ Williams and Brad Hover are to be married at The Riverside Church in New York City in a ceremony, which will include a prayer -- calling on President Barak Obama to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) before the end of his second term in office. TJ and Brad are calling this special prayer a Covenant to End DOMA.
"My partner and I started planning our wedding before we even knew that marriage equality would be made legal in New York State. But we had faith that the laws would be changed in our endless effort towards achieving equality," said TJ Williams.
To raise money for the wedding and for the Covenant to End Doma, TJ has released the above YouTube fundraiser video. TJ and Brad need your help to gather leaders and speakers and others for a civil rights event, where President Obama will be asked to covenant with our nation's communities and its leaders to end DOMA before the end of his second term. All donations will be used for this service and for purposes of community-building around social justice.
Under the discrimination of DOMA, no state is required to acknowledge the legal same-sex marriages, even if they are legal in other states. Participants in the Covenant to End DOMA are also hoping that this event will spur a conversation that would encourage unity between the African American community and the LGBT community, as we face the 2012 election year.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler Introduces a Bill to Repeal DOMA
On March 16, 2011, Rep. Jerry Nadler held a press conference to announce the re-introduction of the Respect for Marriage Act. The legislation, introduced with Reps. Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin, Jared Polis, David Cicilline, and John Conyers, would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a 1996 law that discriminates against lawfully married gay and lesbian couples.
New York state’s attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, filed an amicus brief in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (''DOMA''), the discriminatory law that institutionalises de jure federal discrimination against same-sex marriages.
