WATCH: Rev. Al Sharpton Discuss Obama and DOMA

VIDEO: Al Franken puts Focus on the Family on Blast at the DOMA Repeal Hearing

President Obama Supports the DOMA Repeal Bill

Oooh Weee! Today the White House press secretary Jay Carney said that my Boo supports the Respect for Marriage Act.

Metro Weekly via Chris Geidner has the full exchange:

Metro Weekly: The president has said in the past that he opposes the Defense of Marriage Act, but he is yet to endorse the Respect for Marriage Act, which is the specific piece of legislation --

Carney: Senator [Dianne] Feinstein [(D-Calif.)], yeah.

Metro Weekly: -- aimed to repeal the bill. Tomorrow, the Senate will hold the first hearing into that bill. Is the administration ready to endorse that bill?

Carney: I can tell you that the President has long called for a legislative repeal of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, which continues to have a real impact on the lives of real people -- our families, friends and neighbors. He is proud to support the Respect for Marriage Act, introduced by Sen. Feinstein and Congressman [Jerrold] Nadler [(D-N.Y.)], which would take DOMA off the books once and for all. This legislation would uphold the principle that the federal government should not deny gay and lesbian couples the same rights and legal protections as straight couples.

Metro Weekly: A follow-up. In line with that, the administration is also still in court defending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." When is -- Tomorrow, also will be three weeks since the President said that certification will come in "weeks, not months." Has the President spoken with Secretary Panetta or Adm. Mullen about the certification since he made that statement, and where does it stand?

Carney: I don't know if the President has had those conversations either with Secretary Panetta or his predecessor or Adm. Mullen. What the president said remains the case and our expectation, but I don't have any more information for you on that.

See, I knew my Boo would come through.

The Official Witness List for the DOMA Repeal

Here's the press release for Wednesday's hearing for the DOMA repeal:

OFFICIAL HEARING NOTICE / WITNESS LIST:

July 12, 2011

NOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing entitled “S.598, The Respect for Marriage Act: Assessing the Impact of DOMA on American Families” for Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

By order of the Chairman.
Witness List
Hearing before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary On “S.598, The Respect for Marriage Act: Assessing the Impact of DOMA on American Families”
 
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 226
10:00 a.m.

Panel I
Susan M. Murray
Ferrisburgh, VT

Ron Wallen
Indio, CA

Andrew Sorbo
Cheshire, CT

Panel II
Joe Solmonese
President
The Human Rights Campaign
Washington, DC

Evan Wolfson
Founder and Executive Director
Freedom to Marry
New York, NY

Hearing to repeal DOMA scheduled on Wednesday July 20th

Senator Patrick Leahy said the hearing to repeal DOMA starts on July the 20th.

Here's more:

The hearing will be the first time Congress has heard testimony on legislation that would end federal marriage discrimination against gay and lesbian couples. 

 

“With thousands of loving and committed couples in New York set to marry this month, now is the perfect time for the Senate to begin the process of repealing the discriminatory so-called Defense of Marriage Act,” said Freedom to Marry National Campaign Director Marc Solomon.  “Until DOMA’s enactment, the federal government had always honored marriages celebrated in the states. It’s time for Congress to end this gay exception and allow legally married same-sex couples access to the tools and security available to all other couples to build a life together and protect their families.”

So the showdown starts next week. Hope C-span is on it.

 

source

House approves Anti-Gay Amendment in the Defense budget

Sexy isn't she

Yesterday, Rep. Virginia Foxx put up an anti-gay amendment in the Defense Department budget:

Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx, who represent’s North Carolina’s Fifth Congressional District, attached her amendment to the Department of Defense’s budget for the 2012 fiscal year. The amendment requires enforcement of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and bans any use of funds for “benefits, such as housing, education, medical services, transportation, etc., for same-sex couples on the same basis as opposite-sex married couples,” 

The bill passed 248-175. This will probably fail in Senate and die with the end of DOMA. Still, it is unbelievable this horrid woman was able to do this. Virginia is playing a bad hand and she will pay for this mess. But the shocker is the number of Dems who supported the She-Crow's efforts (via The New Civil Rights Movement):

Reps. Jason Altmire (D-​Pa.), John Barrow (D-​Ga.), Sanford Bishop (D-​Ga.), Dan Boren (D-​Okla.), Ben Chandler (D-​Ky.), Jerry Costello (D-​Ill.), Mark Critz (D-​Pa.), Henry Cuellar (D-​Texas), Joe Donnelly (D-​Ind.), Gene Green (D-​Texas), Tim Holden (D-​Pa.), Larry Kissell (D-N.C.), Dan Lipinski (D-​Ill.), Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.), James Matheson (D-​Utah), Collin Peterson (D-​Minn.), Nich Rahall (D-W.V.), Mike Ross (D-​Ark.) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.).

Keep these cretins in mind, y'all. They need to be held accountable for supporting this Tramp. They should be back in office.

The Senate plans to hold hearing on the DOMA repeal in the Next Few Weeks

Sen. Patrick Leahy

Hot news from D.C. The Senate will take on the repeal of DOMA in the upcoming weeks.
Washington Blade has the scoop

A Senate committee is set in the next few weeks to hear testimony on repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, although details about the planned hearing were scant as of Thursday.

According to a Senate Democratic aide, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, intends to hold a hearing on DOMA repeal “in the next few weeks.” A more definitive date for when the hearing would take place or the individuals who would be invited as witnesses weren’t immediate known.

In a statement, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) praised Leahy for his decision to hold a hearing on DOMA repeal. Both Gillibrand and Leahy are sponsors of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA.

 This is good and possibly a turning point if this hits the ground running. I'll keep you posted.