“Respect” or “Defend” Marriage? The Senate Considers a Bill to Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 (DOMA): Part One in a Two-Part Series of Columns

Authors

Joanna L. Grossman, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Verdict

Publication Date

7-26-2011

Abstract

Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on the impact the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)—through which, in 1996, Congress took a staunch stand against same-sex marriage—has had on gay and lesbian families. The hearings were held as part of the consideration of a new bill, the Respect for Marriage Act of 2011 (S.B. 398), which is currently pending in the Senate.

The new bill would reverse some of the effects of DOMA; for this reason, it should be passed into law. The federal DOMA, which started out as an ill-thought-out statement of principle, has now spawned a legal and bureaucratic mess. The time has thus come for DOMA to go.

Recommended Citation

Joanna L. Grossman, “Respect” or “Defend” Marriage? The Senate Considers a Bill to Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 (DOMA): Part One in a Two-Part Series of Columns Verdict (2011)
Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/faculty_scholarship/916