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Content about 104th United States Congress

May 1, 2013
Proposition 8 and Defense of Marriage attorneys talk to business leaders

Proposition 8 and Defense of Marriage attorneys talk to business leaders at the Out in the Street conference

Want to see the tangible results of the modern gay rights battle? Count the number of companies who signed the amicus brief in the US Supreme Court case involving the Defense of Marriage Act. Retailers like Amazon and Starbucks put their brand names behind marriage equality. High powered firms like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs did the same. Approximately 300 companies said in part:

April 27, 2013
DOMA makes it illegal for gay couples to make joint political donations, rules FEC

The Federal Election Commission ruled that gay couples can’t make a single political donation under both spouse's names

Gay couples are not allowed to make joint political donations like straight couples, said the Federal Election Commission (FEC) this week.

The agency that regulates campaign finance legislation in the US said unanimously this week that their ‘hands were tied’ because of the Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

April 1, 2013
Under pressure, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey supports gay marriage, end of DOMA

'If two people of the same sex fall in love and want to marry, why would our government stand in their way?'

Bob Casey, US senator from Pennsylvania, came out in favor of marriage equality on Monday (1 April) and also called for the end of the Defense of Marriage Act.

Casey had been under increasing pressure after four of his Democratic colleagues in the senate switched their positions last week when the US Supreme Court heard cases challenging DOMA and California's Proposition 8.

March 28, 2013
Obama speaks out on Supreme Court and DOMA

'It is very important for us to remember that we're a nation where everybody is supposed to be equal before the law'

A day after the US Supreme Court heard arguments challenging the Defense of Marriage Act, President Barack Obama spoke out about why he believes the federal gay marriage ban is unfair.

'I think not only is it right and fair but also consistent with our Constitution to recognize same-sex couples,' Obama said Thursday (28 March) in an interview with the Spanish language network Telemundo.

March 27, 2013
DOMA plaintiff Edith Windsor says Supreme Court hearing went 'beautifully'

'I think the justices were gentle … I didn’t feel any hostility'

Edith Windsor emerged from the US Supreme Court building today to hear a crowd chanting 'Edie! Edie!'

The 83-year-old New York resident was the star attraction in the landmark challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act which was being heard by justices it appears may be ready to strke the law down.

As she stood on the steps of the court, Windsor took the opportunity to tell her story and how a $350,000-plus federal estate tax bill, received after the death of her spouse of 44 years, Thea Clara Spyer, got her to this historic day.

March 27, 2013
Supreme Court justices raise serious doubts about DOMA, could overturn law

Ruth Bader Ginsburg says law is like telling states there is 'full marriage and skim milk marriage'

The justices of the US Supreme Court raised major doubts today about the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act during its second hearing in two days on gay marriage.

Journalists who watched the proceedings immediately began tweeting that it appears that DOMA, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, has the five votes needed to be struck down.

March 26, 2013
Five Democratic senators in two days announce sudden support of gay marriage

Leaves just 10 Democrats in US Senate not endorsing marriage equality

Shortly after the Supreme Court hearing on Proposition 8 ended Tuesday (26 March), Montana Senator Jon Tester (pictured) became the fifth Democratic senator in two days to suddenly embrace marriage equality.

He joined recent marriage converts Mark Begich of Alaska, Mark Warner of Virgina, Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia.

This leaves only 10 Democrats in the US Senate who have not publicly endorsed gay marriage.

March 25, 2013
Gay Star News previews blockbuster week at US Supreme Court for gay marriage

Challenges to Prop 8 and DOMA could have historic implications

Although it could be months before the US Supreme Court issues its rulings, this week's hearings on California's Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) are already historic.

It marks the first time the high court has ever decided to take on gay marriage cases and it does so as multiple polls show support of marriage equality at an all-time high.

March 17, 2013
US House Speaker not changing his mind on gay marriage

House Speaker John Boehner 'can't imagine' his views on gay marriage changing

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner sat down for an interview today (17 March) with the ABC News show This Week. The US political leader was asked about fellow Republican John Portman's new position on gay marriage.

March 13, 2013
Minnesota Senate and House votes in support of gay marriage

Senate and House Committees approve bill, it will now proceed to full Senate vote

Both houses of the state of Minnesota's legislature voted on Tuesday (12 March) to proceed with a bill to legalize gay marriage.

The House Civil Law Committee voted 10-7 along party lines to pass the bill and the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5-3 earlier on in the evening.

The bill is now headed for a full Senate vote, but that is not expected until much later in the session. 

The House hearing was filled with memorable moments including when State Rep. Glenn Gruenhage introduced an 'ex-gay' friend of his named Kevin Petersen.

March 13, 2013
Obama says he can't imagine a lawful ban on gay marriage

In an interview with ABC news to be aired today Obama stated he personally thinks a ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional

President Barack Obama said he 'personally' cannot imagine a situation that a state’s ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional.

Obama's commentary was made during an interview with ABC News, that will air tonight (13 March).

In an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulous the president was asked if he thinks the legal ban on gay marriage is a state-by-state issue or a national matter that should be banned.

March 8, 2013
Bill Clinton says DOMA is 'contrary to our constitution'

Former president says Defense of Marriage Act, which he signed into law in 1996, is contrary to the American principles of freedom, equality and justice

The US president who signed into being a law that 'defended' marriage as being between one man and one woman has denounced the law as 'contrary to our constitution'.

Bill Clinton ratified the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996, which he describes as 'a very different time', in an article in the Washington Post.

March 2, 2013
Senators who originally voted for DOMA want the law repealed

Ex-senators who initially gave their support to the Defense of Marriage Act tell the Supreme Court the law is unconstitutional

In 1996, former US Senators Bill Bradley, Tom Daschle, Christopher Dodd and Alan Simpson gave their vote to the Defense of Marriage Act. Now they are telling the Supreme Court the law needs to be stricken down.

The group of senators filed a brief in support of Edith Windsor's challenge to the law. The country's highest court will hear oral arguments in her case on 27 March.

February 26, 2013
Leading Republicans sign brief supporting gay marriage

Scores of prominent republicans sign legal brief to US supreme court in support of gay marriage and opposing H8 and DOMA

At least 75 leading Republicans signed a brief to be submitted to the US supreme court aruging that gay marriage is a constitutional right.

According to The New York Times, who got a copy of the document, signatories include top advisers to former president George W. Bush, four former governors and two members of congress.

February 21, 2013
Obama may weigh in on gay marriage case

President Obama is considering to weigh in on a supreme court case challenging California's gay marriage ban

President Obama is considering urging the US supreme court to overturn California's ban on gay marriage.

Proposition 8 was voted by Californians in 2008 and overturned a state supreme court decision allowing gay marriage.

Twenty-nine other states have constitutional amendments banning gay marriage, while nine states and Washington, D.C., recognize same-sex marriage.

Obama told San Francisco’s KGO-TV that the government is considering filing an administration brief against proposition 8 in the supreme court.

January 24, 2013
Republican leadership files brief in DOMA Supreme Court case

It states 'There is nothing irrational about declining to extend marriage to same-sex relationships'

The day after President Barack Obama called for LGBT equality in his inauguration speech, the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives filed a brief with the US Supreme Court stating why the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act should be upheld.

The brief states that there is nothing 'irrational' about not extending marital rights to same-sex couples because they cannot procreate. It states that marriage's orgins come from a need to address the 'tendency' of heterosexual relationships to produce offspring that are unplanned and unintended.

January 1, 2013
At 83, Edith Windsor says it is 'very joyous' to have her DOMA challenge heading to US Supreme Court

'I feel like everybody's treating me like a hero'

There was a time, not too long ago, that Edith Windsor felt she didn't have anything left to live for.

Her spouse of 44 years, Thea Clara Spyer, had died in 2009 and Windsor suffered from a case of broken heart syndrome (stress cardiomyopathy) that was so severe that her heart stopped.

'I was ready to go. I didn't care,' she tells the Associated Press. 'I had a wonderful life.'

But there was more to come - much more.

December 29, 2012
Soldier fighting DOMA will participate in New Hampshire inaugural ceremony

Charlie Morgan, advocate against the Defense of Marriage Act, will recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the Granite State inauguration

Last week (27 Dec.) New Hampshire Governor-Elect Maggie Hassan announced the details of her upcoming inaugural ceremony. Charlie Morgan, a chief warrant officer in the state's National Guard, will open the ceremony by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Morgan, and her wife, are two of the plaintiffs involved in a lawsuit against the Defense of Marriage Act.

December 21, 2012
President Barack Obama reflects on progress of LGBT equality during his first term

'I think I’ve helped to solidify this incredibly rapid transformation in people’s attitudes'

After 'evolving' on the issue for the first three years of his term, US President Barack Obama finally publicly came out in support of gay marriage last spring.

In an his 'Person of the Year' interview with Time Magazine, Obama reflects on the shifting tide among American voters who did not turn away from him for his support of gay marriage and in three states, passed marriage equality ballot measures.

December 19, 2012
LGBT leaders urge Republicans to stop spending money to defend DOMA in court

They decry that $2 million has been spent with US facing 'enormous economic challenges'

Leaders of some of the largest LGBT organizations in the US are demanding that the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives stop spending money to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court.

The letter, addressed to House Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, states that 'Americans have sent a clear message that they want lawmakers to focus on strengthening our economy, creating jobs, and securing a bright future for generations to come.'

December 14, 2012
US House Republicans secretly bump budget to defend DOMA in court to $2 million

Democrats livid over 'wasting taxpayer dollars to defend the indefensible'

The Republican leadership of the US House of Representatives, currently locked in a major budget war with President Barack Obama, has quietly raised the limit it had set for itself to defend the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act in court to $2 million.

The 1996 law that keeps the US government from recognizing same-sex marriages will be reviewed by the US Supreme Court next year. Obama asked the Justice Department not to defend the constitutionality of the law in courts last year so the Republicans stepped in and hired a private law firm to handle the appeal.

December 12, 2012
Edith Windsor talks about being plaintiff in DOMA case to be heard by US Supreme Court

'It’s almost a deliriously joyous thing for an old lady'

The US Defense of Marriage Act prohibited the Internal Revenue Service from treating Edith Windsor as a surviving spouse after her longtime partner's death in 2009.

Windsor and Thea Spyer had gotten married in Canada two years earlier after 40 years together. But DOMA prevented the US government from recognizing this or any same-sex marriage.

As a result, Windsor was required to pay a $350,000 federal estate tax bill that she would not have had to pay if their marriage had been recognized.

December 8, 2012
Is there pressure on Obama to do more for gay marriage?

New challenges face President Obama now that the Supreme Court is looking at gay marriage

December 7, 2012
US Supreme Court to hear Proposition 8 and DOMA cases

Justices step into the forefront of gay marriage debate in the US

The United States Supreme Court stepped into the forefront of the gay marriage debate Friday (7 December) by agreeing to review cases involving California's Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

The justices are expected to hear arguments in the cases by next April and could deliver a decision by June 2013.

The justices will consider whether Proposition 8 violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. The ballot initiative banning gay marriage in California was passed by voters in the state in November 2008.

December 3, 2012
US Supreme Court delays gay marriage decision at least until Friday

Waiting continues with no announcement on Proposition 8 or DOMA cases

Despite anticipation that there might be some kind of announcement today (3 December), the US Supreme Court has not yet decided whether or not to hear appeals on California's Proposition 8 and cases involving the Defense of Marriage Act.

Whether to take on any of the cases was discussed by the high court in conference last week and is expected to be discussed again Friday. But it is still unknown when the justices will make their decision.