DOMA repeal advances out of Senate Committee
- Nov 17, 2011 -
For better or for worse, marriage seems to have found a welcome home lately in the national dialogue. The past week is no exception. This time, the institution is making headlines for one of those “worse” reasons: an unprecedented vote by a Senate panel to throw out marriage as defined by a 1996 law.
In yet another strike against marriage, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted last week in support of a bill to repeal the longstanding Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage for federal purposes as only the union of one man and one woman and protects states from being forced to recognize same-sex “marriages” performed elsewhere. The 10-8 vote clears a major hurdle for the repeal measure to receive a vote in the full Senate.
The deceptively titled Respect for Marriage Act (S. 598), sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and cosponsored by 30 other senators, would repeal the 1996 federal law on marriage outright, threatening to redefine marriage across the country.
Given strong opposition to repeal of DOMA, both in the House and among the public, it is uncertain whether the measure will be given a vote anytime soon. But with the administration on record in support of repeal, and with the future of the family at stake, there are reasons aplenty to head off any potential action.
Repeal would put marriage on a collision course with the states. Under a repeal, the 30 states that have passed—by an average voter approval of 67 percent—constitutional amendments defining marriage as only the union of one man and one woman could quickly see their line in the sand crossed by the federal government. With DOMA dismantled, states would lack federal protection in refusing to accept same-sex “marriages” performed elsewhere.
A radical shift in a host of other things would result as well. Financial benefits, including health care coverage, could be mandated to “wedded” same-sex couples. Business owners’ conscience rights could be trampled under foot. Elementary school textbooks would be rewritten to teach a new “normality” of two mommies or two daddies. To be sure, myriad laws would necessarily be changed to reflect a supposed legislative enlightenment on what constitutes marriage.
Just five years ago, the Senate Judiciary Committee had a different take on marriage. The panel voted in 2006 to approve a federal marriage amendment enshrining marriage as only the union of one man and one woman. Regrettably, the amendment failed to make it out of either house of Congress.
The courts, meanwhile, have not been friends of marriage as of late, either. Legalized same-sex “marriage” came about in four of seven U.S. jurisdictions—Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and New Hampshire—through judicial fiat. In the other three—Vermont, the District of Columbia and the most recent, New York—the expansion of marriage was determined by legislatures. All seven, however, share a common trait: The people were left without a say in the matter.
As some courts and lawmakers continue working overtime to keep decisions on the definition of marriage out of the hands of the people, those who support the institution as ordained by God should make use of the time to voice their concerns to their lawmakers in Washington. And senators serving on the Judiciary Committee especially need to hear from their constituents, expressing either appreciation for or disapproval of their vote cast on the Respect for Marriage Act to repeal DOMA.
The following is a list of how senators on the Judiciary Committee voted on the Respect for Marriage Act (S. 598) to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act:
Voted for Repeal of DOMA
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chairman
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE)
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN)
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Voted Against Repeal of DOMA
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), ranking member
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Sen. Michael Lee (R-UT)
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)