Calif. Legislature Calls on President, Congress to End DOMA Marriage Discrimination

Sacramento – Aug. 23, 2010

The California Legislature has approved a resolution by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, calling for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, which discriminates against married same-sex couples.

“President Obama has called this law abhorrent in the way it denies more than 1,000 federal rights to same-sex couples,” Assemblywoman Brownley said. “Congress must act now to overturn DOMA, which is rooted in irrational and unfounded prejudice. Married same-sex couples deserve equal access to these benefits.”
The state Senate voted 22-12 in favor of AJR 19, a resolution which calls on the President and Congress to overturn the law. The Assembly approved the bill earlier this year.

The Defense of Marriage Act bars same-sex couples from Social Security survivors’ benefits, access to health insurance through a federally-employed spouse and the ability to file joint tax returns, among other benefits.

The 18,000 same-sex couples who married in California deserve all of the rights and responsibilities of heterosexual couples when they travel to other states, Brownley said.

President Obama, former President Bill Clinton – who signed DOMA into law – and former Congressman Bob Barr – DOMA’s author – now call for the repeal of the discriminatory law.

AJR 19, by Assemblymembers Brownley and Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, was sponsored by Equality California and the California Faculty Association.