Sep 18, 2009  |  By: Chris Johnson  | COMMENTS     

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) introduced on Tuesday the Respect for Marriage Act, which would overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, a law Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed in 1996 that prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

At a Capitol Hill press conference, Nadler called the Respect for Marriage Act “the first step to overturning the Defense of Marriage Act and sending that ugly law into the history books where it belongs.”

“Our bill ensures that all married couples, including lawfully married same-sex couples, will have the same access to federal responsibilities and benefits, including critical programs like Social Security that are intended to ensure the stability and security of American families,” Nadler said.

The repeal legislation would only facilitate federal recognition of same-sex marriages — not civil unions or domestic partnerships. Nadler said unions other than marriage are excluded from the legislation because “they’re different in every state.”

“Every state has marriage,” he said. “If you get married legally, you have the state rights … you should have the federal rights as well, and this bill deals simply with that.”

The bill additionally contains a “certainty provision” allowing married same-sex couples to receive the federal benefits of marriage even if they move to a state that doesn’t recognize their union.

Nadler said the task ahead in passing the Respect for Marriage Act “is not easy” and he expects opponents of repeal to try to keep DOMA on the books by “making false claims that our bill will force same-sex marriage on unwilling states.”

“That dishonest [claim] should not stop us from aggressively pushing to end this horrible discrimination now,” Nadler said. “I’m confident that with a president who is committed to repealing and the broad, diverse coalition of Americans at our side … we can and we will dump DOMA once and for all.”

Among the supporters of repealing DOMA is former President Clinton. Nadler read a statement from Clinton during the press conference.

“Throughout my life I have opposed discrimination of any kind,” Clinton said, according to Nadler. “When the Defense of Marriage Act was passed, gay couples could not marry anywhere in the United States or the world for that matter. Thirteen years later, the fabric of our country has changed, and so should this policy.”

The Respect for Marriage Act has 91 original co-sponsors, including gay Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.), who appeared at the press conference to show support.

President Obama, who didn’t attend, has pledged to overturn the law and called it “discriminatory.” A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond Tuesday to the Blade’s request for comment on the Respect for Marriage Act.

Baldwin called a DOMA repeal “long overdue and an important step on the road to full equality for LGBT Americans.”

“For the federal government to deny any legal married couple the hundreds of benefits and responsibilities that help protect their families is discrimination — pure and simple,” she said.

Baldwin said the U.S. government has historically deferred to states to determine policy on who can legally marry and said DOMA interferes with that tradition.

While Baldwin and Polis are supporting the Respect for Marriage Act, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the longest-serving openly gay member of Congress, is not among the bill’s co-sponsors.

Frank said in an interview Friday with the Blade that he’s not a co-sponsor because he has a “strategic difference” with those supporting the legislation.

“It’s not anything that’s achievable in the near term,” he said. “I think getting [the Employment Non-Discrimination Act], a repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ and full domestic partner benefits for federal employees will take up all of what we can do and maybe more in this Congress.”

Frank also said that advocacy for the “certainty provision” would create “political problems” in Congress.

“The provision that says you can take your benefits as you travel, I think, will stir up unnecessary opposition with regard to the question of are you trying to export it to other states,” he said. “If we had a chance to pass that, it would be a different story, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to rekindle that debate when there’s no chance of passage in the near term.”

Nadler said supporters of DOMA repeal intend to move forward without Frank’s sponsorship of the bill.

“We are going to move this bill when we can,” Nadler said. “We have a big task ahead of us of education and clarification and so forth, but 90 co-sponsors in a couple of days is an incredible show of support, so we’re going to do that ...