Same-Sex Marriage, Equality, and the Decision to Overturn DOMA
Dennis Taylor
LEG 100
Professor Craig Brown
September 5, 2013
Same-Sex Marriage, Equality, and the Decision to Overturn DOMA
Gay marriage rose to the political forefront in 1996 when several gay couples from Hawaii sued for the right to legally marry (Baehr v. Miike, 950 P.2d 1234; 1996). The anti-gay conservative response to the growing issue of gay marriage was The Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) of 1996 which denied federal recognition of gay marriages and gives each state the right to refuse recognition of same-sex marriage licenses issued by other states (Sheets, C., 2013). The act did not prohibit states from allowing gay marriages, nor did it obligate states to recognize the gay marriages from other states. Due to the provisions of The Federal Defense of Marriage Act, marriage licenses granted to gay and lesbian couples in one state did not have to be recognized by another state. Therefore, gay marriage licenses issued in say Massachusetts were only valid in state of Massachusetts, unless other states chooses to recognize them. This forced married gay and lesbian couples to either reside in the states where their licenses were issued or lose the benefits of marriage in their home state. DOMA also denied gay and lesbian partners access to the federal benefits given to their partners.
When Bill Clinton first ran for President over twenty years ago, he was the first candidate for national office to seek and receive support from an organized gay political community, which was itself new to Presidential politics. In 1992, after twelve years of Republican control of the White House, the federal government had neglected funding the battle against the quickly burgeoning AIDS epidemic. Clinton was sympathetic; because of his interest in civil rights generally, and long friendships with gay and AIDS activists, he was then one of the national politicians most...