VIDEO: What’s Next for DOMA

By support
Feb 24, 2011 at 04:14 pm

President Obama's announcement yesterday that he found the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" unconstitutional means that the Justice Department will no longer defend the law in court. But DOMA will still remain in effect until it is scrapped by either legislative or judicial means.

Toward that end, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) have said they will introduce bills to repeal the law.

"My own belief is that when two people love each other and enter the contract of marriage, the Federal government should honor that," said Sen. Feinstein. "I opposed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. It was the wrong law then; it is the wrong law now; and it should be repealed.”

Rep. Nadler introduced a repeal bill in 2009. "I will be reintroducing my legislation, the ‘Respect for Marriage Act,’ to repeal DOMA and ensure that committed, loving couples can rely upon the legal responsibilities and security that come with the time-honored tradition of marriage,” he said.

For more on the president's decision and what’s ahead, watch Freedom to Marry National Campaign Director Marc Solomon's interview with Fab.com: