Terrific news today; the Supreme Court decided that even despised homosexuals like me deserve equal protection under the 5th Amendment and have overturned the odious Defense of Marriage Act. It’s a hugely important decision that establishes federal support for gay marriage. But let’s not forget how we got here, in 1996,
when DOMA was passed. Of course the Republicans are even worse, but that's no surprise given their position as the party for bigots. Here’s a list of the Democrat senators who voted for DOMA. Many of them are still running the country. Baucus, Biden, Bingaman, Bradley, Breaux, Bryan, Bumpers, Byrd, Conrad, Daschle, Dodd, Dorgan, Exon, Ford, Glenn, Graham, Harkin, Heflin, Hollings, Johnston, Kohl, Lautenberg, Leahy, Levin, Lieberman, Mikulski, Murray, Nunn, Reid, Rockefeller, Sarbanes, Wellstone Some of these folks have since recanted, but I kind of feel like each one owes me and every other gay American a personal apology. Update: I was completely wrong about who
controlled the 104th
Congress when DOMA passed; the Republicans had swept into power in
the 1994 elections. Many Democrats also voted for DOMA, but it would
have passed even if they all voted against it. It still seems like a
betrayal but the political calculation is a bit different.
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