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Respect for Marriage Act

By Grace Moon on September 15th, 2009 | 11:52 am

Today Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) introduced the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA), which would repeal DOMA and allow same-sex couples to receive federal benefits of marriage.

According to Fresnobee.com:

Ilan Kayatsky, spokesman for Nadler, said the repeal was being introduced now primarily "to gain support and momentum and educate people." Nadler chairs a Judiciary subcommittee that would consider a repeal.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., an influential, openly gay lawmaker, favors repeal but has not signed on as a co-sponsor of Nadler's bill. Frank believes the legislation would have little chance of passage, because it would allow same-sex couples to take their partnership benefits across state lines, said spokesman Harry Gural.

The president of a gay advocacy group, the Human Rights Campaign, said Frank's disagreement was about tactics, not the goal of repeal.

"We're making a case for an ambitious bill, and I don't have any illusions that it will be easy or happen overnight," added the group's president, Joe Solmonese.

There also has been no movement for repeal in the Senate, where it would be difficult to gain the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.