President Clinton Urges End to DOMA in WaPo Op-Ed

by maureenemccarty

President who signed law calls it “discriminatory” and urges Supreme Court to overturn it

Washington– In a Washington Post op-ed column running tomorrow, President Bill Clinton who signed the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act into law in 1996, called on the Supreme Court to overturn the ban on federal recognition of legally married same-sex couples, saying the law was “incompatible with our Constitution.”  The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments later this month in the Windsor case challenging DOMA as well as the Perry case challenging California’s Proposition 8, banning marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin released the following statement:

"A growing chorus has risen up in opposition to DOMA but the loudest voice is now the man who signed the bill into law calling for it to be overturned.  President Clinton has already voiced his opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act and his emphatic repudiation of this discriminatory law is a reflection of the views of a majority of Americans who don’t understand why loving and committed couples should be ignored by their own government.  As President Clinton eloquently articulated, DOMA is a vestige of another time and now we must turn our back on legally sanctioned discrimination."

 

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