From Jim Jordan, Chairman of the Republican Study Committee:
Spending is not the only fight in Washington, however. Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was signed into law by President Clinton in 1996, defines marriage as what it has always been. But after two years of defending the law in court, the Obama administration decided last week that it could not find one reasonable argument for the traditional definition of marriage. This blatant flip-flop was nothing more than an excuse to abandon this hallowed institution. Traditional marriage is the cornerstone upon which our society was built. Congress has both the authority and the duty to step in and ensure that DOMA gets a robust defense against challengers seeking to redefine marriage.
With Republicans upset at the Obama administration’s abandonment of the Defense of Marriage Act, Representative Eric Cantor, the Virginia Republican and majority leader, said on Monday that the House would take action by the end of the week to make certain the law is defended against legal challenges.
Mr. Cantor said he agreed with Speaker John A. Boehner that the House should step in and suggested that most members of the House find it disappointing that the White House has decided unilaterally not to defend a duly passed law.
Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.), the sixth-ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said the Obama administration's decision to no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act is a "dereliction of duty," and indicated that congressional oversight may be coming.
"It is beyond disappointment," Lungren said on the House floor Monday. "I believe it is a dereliction of duty. To somehow now find that there is no constitutional basis for defending that law is incredible, and I think regrettable, and I think we ought to look into it."
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said President Barack Obama’s decision not to fully enforce the Defense of Marriage law eventually could lead to a constitutional crisis, as he has directly violated his constitutional duties by arbitrarily suspending a law:
By refusing to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), by calling it “legally indefensible,” by inventing a new constitutional doctrine (i.e. that sexual orientation is a protected class) never accepted by the Supreme Court, by rejecting controlling Supreme Court precedent in Baker v. Nelson on marriage, by nakedly politicizing the Justice Department, by nationalizing the marriage question and forcing major GOP leaders and presidential candidates to act — President Obama is not only helping build up a national marriage movement, he has actually made it far more likely the Supreme Court will ultimately vote to uphold DOMA. [Continue reading]
Here is Maggie Gallagher testifying against same-sex marriage at the Maryland State House Committee Hearing last Friday (02/25/11):
Since the hearing, rumors have begun to circulate that the SSM side may not have enough votes to pass their marriage redefinition bill in the Maryland House.
"President Obama's decision to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is a clear dereliction of duty and an obvious attempt to promote a politically-correct agenda in our nation. The President's incomprehensible and misguided decision should also serve as a call to action for citizens of Rhode Island who are currently confronting a similar attempt to impose same-sex marriage on our state. The Catholic Church in Rhode Island will redouble its efforts to protect and promote the traditional values of marriage and family that have been given to us by God and serve as the foundation of our culture."
[Attorney General Eric] Holder has embraced the position of Federal Judge Vaughn Walker in California that opposing so-called gay marriage can be “harmful to gays and lesbians.” But that’s like claiming that opposition to polygamy is harmful to polygamists or that laws defining marriage as the union of two people harm those who prefer to live in what are called sexual “triads” or “quadrads.” Our historic marriage laws harm nobody; they serve husbands, wives, children, and the common good of society.
Fox News' Chris Wallace talked with Huckabee about the [DOMA] decision Sunday.
"You say that that could destroy the president," Wallace noted. "Isn't that over the top?"
"No," Huckabee replied. "He alieniated the African American community. Overwhelmingly, they support traditional marriages more than Hispanics and more than whites."
"It is more likely that Obama's long-professed opposition to same-sex marriage was a political deception. His behavior indicates that he was never committed to defending marriage. But he wants to run for reelection. So he's resolved that dilemma by punting the issue to the courts." (source)
The Wall Street Journal: "Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes same-sex marriage, said his group had already been meeting with members of Congress to ask them to intervene in the DOMA legal challenges."
Eunice and Owen Johns, aged 62 and 65, from Oakwood, Derby, went to court after a social worker expressed concerns when they said they could not tell a child a "homosexual lifestyle" was acceptable.
But Lord Justice Munby and Mr Justice Beatson ruled that laws protecting people from discrimination because of their sexual orientation "should take precedence" over the right not to be discriminated against on religious grounds.
The Pentecostal Christian couple had applied to Derby City Council to be respite carers but withdrew their application, believing they would never be approved because of the social worker's attitude to their religious beliefs.
Today they asked judges to rule that their faith should not be a bar to them becoming carers, and the law should protect their Christian values.
Noted scholar Gerard V. Bradley, Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame Law School and a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, a think tank on the campus of Stanford University, writes that "President Obama has dropped the defense of marriage out of political convenience rather than reasonable opposition." [Continue reading]
