The Obama administration, which came to office promising to protect gay rights but so far has not done much, actually struck a blow for the other side last week. It submitted a disturbing brief in support of the Defense of Marriage Act, which is the law that protects the right of states to not recognize same-sex marriages and denies same-sex married couples federal benefits. The administration needs a new direction on gay rights. . . .And here's Rachel Maddow talking it over with Howard Dean - "You can't talk about gay Americans that way . . . this went a lot too far":
The brief also maintains that the Defense of Marriage Act represents a “cautious policy of federal neutrality” — an odd assertion since the law clearly discriminates against gay couples. Under the act, same-sex married couples who pay their taxes are ineligible for the sort of federal benefits — such as Social Security survivors’ payments and joint tax returns — that heterosexual married couples receive. . . .
There was no need to resort to specious arguments and inflammatory language to impugn same-sex marriage as an institution. The best approach of all would have been to make clear, even as it defends the law in court, that it is fighting for gay rights. . . In times like these, issues like repealing the marriage act can seem like a distraction — or a political liability. But busy calendars and political expediency are no excuse for making one group of Americans wait any longer for equal rights.
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And this pic from the CBS News blog Political Hotsheet sums up my feelings pretty well right now:
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