THIS PISSES ME OFF!
Is gay marriage legal or isn't it??? The hypocrites in Massachusetts are trying to withhold benefits for the spouse of a prominent gay congressman. The marriage is legal, the government there said so. So WHAT is the problem???
Either it IS legal or it ISN'T. Make up our minds! I am a firm believer that you do what you say you are going to do and back up your words with actions. Well, the government in Massachusetts is failing it's people thus far. I am waiting to see what's next. I can only hope they do the right thing.
posted by Big Mama at 9:17 AM
3 Comments:
Well, actually, the Federal government is withholding benefits because it does not recognize gay marriage. Massachusetts doesn't have any say in the matter.
So the hypocrites are actually members of House and Senate, who passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and Bill Clinton (!), who signed it. DOMA allows the Federal government to refuse to recognize gay marriage despite the full-faith-and-credit clause of the Consititution. (Traditionally, the full-faith-and-credit clause is what required all states and the Federal government to recognize a marriage that took place in another state.)
DOMA is obviously unconstitutional b/c is flies directly in the face of the full-faith-and-credit clause. In fact, gay marriage opponents clearly recognize that it's unconstitutional, because they're actively attempting to amend the Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman -- in which case the constitutionality of DOMA would no longer be of issue.
Here's a pretty good write-up on the subject: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/gay_marriage/act.html
Hey, thanks for the clarity Jessica. I have to admit that it all confuses me. All I know is what I feel and what the news reports. Either way, the whole thing is sad. He died young and left his loved one behind.
I totally agree, Big Mama. But I don't understand why gay-rights supporters are surprised that this guy isn't getting his husband's pension. This is exactly what DOMA was designed to do -- deny rights to gay spouses.
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