Pages

Monday, July 6, 2009

Obama Wants to Repeal Defense of Marriage Act, Says General Counsel for Office of Personnel Management


From CNS News
By Nicholas Ballasy

President Barack Obama wants to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and abolish the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy concerning homosexuals in the military, according to Elaine Kaplan, general counsel of the White House Office of Personnel Management.

Kaplan, an open lesbian, spoke with CNSNews.com at the Library of Congress on Tuesday, where she was the keynote speaker at a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month event to celebrate the social contributions of LGBT Americans.

“Well, I’m not sure if there’s any legislative proposals right now pending in Congress, but I know the president has spoken now very forcefully against the Defense of Marriage Act as being highly discriminatory,” said Kaplan. “So that’s pretty much where things stand. He has also committed to doing everything he can to get the Defense of Marriage Act repealed.”



The DOMA, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, says that no state is obligated to recognize a same-sex marriage, even if it occurred legally in another state and that the federal government defines marriage as being exclusively between one man and one woman.

Read the rest of this entry >>

No comments:

Post a Comment