HRC Statement on Unnecessary House Vote to Reaffirm DOMA

Washington – The U.S. House voted this evening for an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill sponsored by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) that reaffirms the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.  DOMA already states that “in determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies,” marriage is limited to the union of a man and a woman.  Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese released the following statement:

“This amendment is completely unnecessary and only serves to cloud the debate over ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal by pointlessly injecting the issue of marriage equality into the conversation.  Since Pentagon officials have made it clear that they are bound by DOMA like every other federal agency, it’s puzzling why Rep. Foxx would question whether our military leaders understand this point.

“House Republican leaders seem to have no end to their desire to play politics with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people instead of tackling real problems.  It will be up to the Senate to reject the House’s return to using LGBT Americans as a wedge issue.”

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

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