DOMA Criticized by Obama After Smelt v. United States Ruling

by alia_d | August 17, 2009 at 12:00 pm

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On August 17, President Obama issued a statement in which he showed that he objects to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and that he intends to ask congress to repeal DOMA in order to decrease discrimination against LGBT couples.

In the statement against DOMA, Obama said the following:

Today, the Department of Justice has filed a response to a legal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, as it traditionally does when acts of Congress are challenged. This brief makes clear, however, that my Administration believes that the Act is discriminatory and should be repealed by Congress. I have long held that DOMA prevents LGBT couples from being granted equal rights and benefits. While we work with Congress to repeal DOMA, my Administration will continue to examine and implement measures that will help extend rights and benefits to LGBT couples under existing law.

The statement followed a brief by the Department of Justice in response to Smelt v. United States, a lawsuit by a gay couple to invalidate the DOMA. The Department of Justice defended the constitutionality of the DOMA, because it is obligated to defend federal statutes as long as reasonable arguments can be made in support of their constitutionality. However, the Department of Justice also indicated that it objected to the DOMA as a policy matter:

the filing itself made clear that the administration "does not support DOMA as a matter of policy, believes that it is discriminatory, and supports its repeal."

The White House hopes that these statements will ease anger among gay activists who have been angered by the Department of Justices's support of the DOMA's constitutionality despite the fact that Obama promised a full repeal of the DOMA in his campaign platform.

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