NOM’s Maggie Gallagher faces tough questions at congressional hearing
April 18, 2011
On Friday, the Subcommittee on the Constitution for the House Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing called “Defending Marriage.” The hearing came after the Obama Administration announced that it would no longer defend the so-called Defense of Marriage Act.
NOM’s Maggie Gallagher faced tough questions from Democrats on the subcommittee for her opposition to the freedom to marry and NOM’s work to repeal marriage laws in states including Maine. From The Washington Blade:
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, asked Gallagher if the children of Jen and Dawn Barbou-Rouske, a married same-sex couple from Iowa who were present during the hearing, should have parents who can receive the full protections of marriage or if she considers these children “expendable.”
“I think no children are expendable,” Gallagher replied. “Gay people have families that are not marital families, but they are families. I myself was an unwed mother, so I have firsthand experience with being in a family that’s not a marital family. I don’t think you need to have a message of stigmatization and exclusion to protect to an ideal.”Nadler, sponsor of DOMA repeal legislation in the House, interrupted Gallagher, saying “the whole point” of DOMA is stigmatization and exclusion, and pressed Gallagher further on why the institution of marriage benefits when same-sex couples are excluded.
The Respect for Marriage Act is the bill would repeal DOMA and end federal marriage discrimination. Freedom to Marry is working to build congressional support for the Respect for Marriage Act.
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