by Michael Foust, posted Tuesday, June 16, 2009 (15 years ago)
WASHINGTON (BP)--With homosexual activist groups up in arms over President Obama's inaction on key issues important to their community, the White House is repeating its commitment to changing federal law so that every state could be forced to recognize the "gay marriages" of an individual state.
John Berry, the highest ranking homosexual person in the Obama administration, told The Advocate magazine's online edition in a June 14 article that the president remains committed to overturning the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a 1996 law signed by President Clinton that prevents the federal government from recognizing "gay marriage" and gives states the option of not recognizing "gay marriages" from other states, such as Massachusetts.
Obama campaigned on a pledge to the homosexual community that he supported overturning the law -- a pledge that was placed on the White House website on Jan. 20 when he took office but has since been pulled. Homosexual groups griped when the website was scrubbed but were outraged last week when Obama's Justice Department filed a brief with a federal court defending the Defense of Marriage Act.
The brief said that a suit filed by two homosexual men who were "married" in California should be dismissed.
"[I]t was reasonable and rational for Congress to maintain its longstanding policy of fostering this traditional and universally-recognized form of marriage," it said. The brief further said that states traditionally have been given leeway not to recognize, for instance, marriages between cousins or an uncle and niece.
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest homosexual activist organization, took the rare step of releasing a public statement criticizing the White House. HRC President Joe Solmonese said he could not "overstate the pain" caused by "implying that our own marriages have no more constitutional standing than incestuous ones." He called on Obama to introduce a bill in Congress overturning the Defense of Marriage Act. Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean called the brief "really offensive" and argued that Obama likely didn't know it was coming. The New York Times' editorial board also chimed in, saying, "The administration needs a new direction on gay rights."
Additionally, two prominent homosexual leaders -- David Mixner and Andy Towle -- have pulled out of a Democratic National Committee Fundraiser that is scheduled to feature Vice President Biden June 25, Politico.com reported. Both men cited the Defense of Marriage Act brief as the reason.
Berry, though, said that while the White House wants to see the law overturned legislatively, it had an obligation to defend it in court.
"This president took a solemn oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and he does not get to decide and choose which laws he enforces," Berry told The Advocate. Read More
