Draft Congressional Ethics Rules Would Recognize Gay Marriages

By GottaLaff

Imagine that, treating people like people:

The House ethics committee has drafted rules that for the first time would define gay married couples as “spouses” for the purposes of filling out their annual Congressional financial disclosure forms.

Activists on both sides of the gay marriage issue said the reporting requirements, if adopted, would mark the first time Congress has recognized a gay partner as a spouse. Opponents of gay rights said the draft appears to contradict the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which mandates that for any federal regulations, “the word ‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife.”

What a coincidence. The Defense of Marriage Act appears to contradict-- What's that term again? Oh yeah-- equal rights.

Specter Calls for Repeal of Marriage Act

By GottaLaff

What a good Democrat Arlen's become since he decided he wanted to be re-elected very, very badly:

The announcement by Senator Specter, a longtime supporter of the marriage act who once said he favored fortifying it with a constitutional amendment, came in the midst of his primary battle for the Democratic nomination against Representative Joe Sestak, who favors its repeal.

Both Mr. Sestak and Republicans, in the last 12 hours or so, have been quick to point out that Mr. Specter voted for the act in 1996 and even proposed that it be fortified with a constitutional amendment in 2004, when he faced a tough Republican primary challenge from Pat Toomey, a conservative.

Sestak nailed him with a statement of his own. Here's a taste:

As the long-time Republican Senator carries on his attempt to run away from his 30-year Republican record, this time on his vote to support the Defense of Marriage Act, he should be honest about his votes to oppose equal rights for LGBT Americans. [...]

Senator Specter’s willingness to reposition himself just to help himself politically should give pause to Pennsylvanians who are looking for a loyal Senator who will put principle over politics for the next generation.

Go here for more ouch-worthiness.

Extra Added Cartoon of the Day

Because it was too damn good. Click to enlarge, via.

VIDEO: What Barack Obama promised the gay community

By GottaLaff

My two earlier posts about President Obama and DOMA are here and here:

Obama on DOMA: He IS Keeping A Promise, per fed attorney

By GottaLaff

Earlier I posted this. Now we have an opposing viewpoint. Short version-- Policy v. the law:

I am an attorney, and I am a federal government attorney. I am here to say that Obama is keeping a promise with regard to DOMA, just not one you are thinking about in your haste to call him out as having abandoned the GLBT community by filing a brief arguing in support of DOMA.

Here's the promise you claim he is breaking: By defending DOMA in court, he is breaking his promise to fight for gay and lesbian rights. He is breaking a policy promise.

I think that is incorrect.

Rather, here's the promise he is keeping: He is keeping his promise that he will serve and act as President as if America is a nation of laws, which it is. He is keeping his promise to uphold the law. [...]

The point is: The man I voted for told me he would return us to a nation of laws, not of men. That means we follow (and apply, and defend--or else it means nothing) the law. Regardless of the whims or policy desires of the man in the chair. Because he is bound by the law, too.

Have you all forgotten this so soon?

So rail about breaks of promises where policy is concerned; you should and you must petition your government for a redress of those grievances. We all must. We must use our voices to make Obama change the policy, make him change the law, make Congress change the law. Everywhere we think it needs changing. Hold his feet to the fire on those campaign policy promises, and beat him up when he doesn't.

But for God's sake, don't beat him up when he (and his DOJ) does his Constitutional duty--a duty ignored for 8 years--and defends and upholds the law.

Much more here. Your turn.

Attorney General Defends DOMA

By GottaLaff

I've already sent a letter to the ObamAdministration via the Internets. Please follow that link and do the same. Here's the back story and part of a very angry response:

On Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder, once heralded by the gay community as someone who would work to achieve President Obama’s promise to repeal DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, on Wednesday stood in front of his Department of Justice’s LGBT employees and, as reported in an article just released by The Washington Blade, spoke to the Obama Administration’s promise of equality for all [...]

That was Wednesday.

Thursday, Holder’s Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss a gay marriage case the U.S. Court of Appeals is hearing. In “Obama defends DOMA in federal court. Says banning gay marriage is good for the federal budget. Invokes incest and marrying children,” John Aravosis of AmericaBlog writes,

Obama didn’t just argue a technicality about the case, he argued that DOMA is reasonable. That DOMA is constitutional. That DOMA wasn’t motivated by any anti-gay animus. He argued why our Supreme Court victories in Roemer and Lawrence shouldn’t be interpreted to give us rights in any other area (which hurts us in countless other cases and battles). He argued that DOMA doesn’t discriminate against us because it also discriminates about straight unmarried couples (ignoring the fact that they can get married and we can’t).

He actually argued that the courts shouldn’t consider Loving v. Virginia, the miscegenation case in which the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to ban interracial marriages, when looking at gay civil rights cases. He told the court, in essence, that blacks deserve more civil rights than gays, that our civil rights are not on the same level. [...]

Attorney General Holder has taken one of our most sacred pieces of history and all but used it against us. What’s past IS prologue, Mr. Holder, Mr. Obama. You too should know that better than most Americans. We certainly do.

It’s time to march. It’s time to fight for our rights. It’s time to win.

I don't understand this at all. I am as disappointed as I can be. Please go sign the letter. Let Obama hear your voices.