Senator Barbara Mikulski agreed yesterday to co-sponsor the Respect For Marriage Act, S.598 which would repeal DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act. DOMA prevents the Federal government from recognizing the legal same-sex marriages of couples in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Iowa, and Washington DC.
Mikulski becomes the 30th Senator to support DOMA's repeal, and every supporter is now a sponsor or co-sponsor of S.598.
Senator by Senator, Representative by Representative, voter by voter and federal court by federal court, support for DOMA is waning. It has already been declared unconstitutional once in a Federal court in Gill. It is likely to be declared unconstitutional in other cases fairly soon such as Golinski. And the Obama administration has proclaimed its belief that the law is unconstitutional.
For all that it will not fall easily. It will be years before the constitutional question will reach the Supreme Court, and/or it will take years before a majority of the House of Senate can agree to repeal it. But every repeal supporting citizen, Senator, US Representative and court decision brings us closer to that day.
The Respect for Marriage Act was introduced by Senator Feinstein on March 16th, 2011, with 18 co-sponsors. Since then, eleven more Senators have joined the list, many of them prompted by letters and phone calls from constituents. Those contacts were themselves driven by persistent campaigns by the Courage Campaign, various LGBT organizations... and an occasional Daily Kos diary. By way of example, Senator Mikulski received a petition with 3000 constituent signatures conceived of and executed by the Courage Campaign and Equality Maryland, likely prompting her to the announcement she just made.
The original co-sponsors
Sen Akaka, Daniel K. (HI) - 3/16/2011
Sen Blumenthal, Richard (CT) - 3/16/2011
Sen Boxer, Barbara (CA) - 3/16/2011
Sen Cantwell, Maria (WA) - 3/17/2011
Sen Coons, Christopher A. (DE) - 3/16/2011
Sen Durbin, Richard (IL) - 3/16/2011
Sen Franken, Al (MN) - 3/16/2011
Sen Gillibrand, Kirsten E. (NY) - 3/16/2011
Sen Inouye, Daniel K. (HI) - 3/16/2011
Sen Kerry, John F. (MA) - 3/16/2011
Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. (NJ) - 3/16/2011
Sen Leahy, Patrick J. (VT) - 3/16/2011
Sen Merkley, Jeff (OR) - 3/16/2011
Sen Murray, Patty (WA) - 3/16/2011
Sen Schumer, Charles E. (NY) - 3/16/2011
Sen Shaheen, Jeanne (NH) - 3/16/2011
Sen Udall, Mark (CO) - 3/16/2011
Sen Whitehouse, Sheldon (RI) - 3/16/2011
Sen Wyden, Ron (OR) - 3/16/2011
Co-sponsors post bill introduction, in chronological order
Sen Harkin, Tom (IA) - 4/14/2011
! Sen Kohl, Herb (WI) - 4/14/2011
Sen Brown, Sherrod (OH) - 5/5/2011
! Sen Udall, Tom (NM) - 5/17/2011
Sen Cardin, Benjamin L. (MD) - 5/26/2011
Sen Bennet, Michael F. (CO) - 6/8/2011
! Sen Bingaman, Jeff (NM) - 7/11/2011
Sen Sanders, Bernard (VT) - 7/11/2011
Sen Klobuchar, Amy (MN) - 8/2/2011
! Sen Mikulski, Barbara (MD) - 9/8/2011
! -- co-sponsorship directly attributed to grassroots action
So who is left to pester in the short term?
Here are three Democratic Senators in Democratic States whose other half has already signed on. There is no reason these Senators have to not support repeal of DOMA. Below these three are listed a number of other prospects.
TOM CARPER
DELAWARE
202-224-2441
email
United States Senate, 513 Hart Building, Washington, DC 20510
BOB MENENDEZ
NEW JERSEY
202-224-4744
email
528 Senate Hart Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
JACK REED
RHODE ISLAND
202-224-4642
email
728 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
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MARK BEGICH
ALASKA
202-224-3004
email
11 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
JOE LIEBERMAN
CONNECTICUT
202-224-4041
email
706 Hart Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
SUSAN COLLINS
MAINE
202-224-2523
email
413 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
DEBBIE STABENOW
MICHIGAN
202-224-4822
email
133 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
CLAIRE MCCASKILL
MISSOURI
202-224-6154
email
Hart Senate Office Building, Ste. 506, Washington, D.C. 20510
JON TESTER
MONTANA
202-224-3644
email
724 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-2604
CARL LEVIN
MICHIGAN
202-224-6221
email
269 Russell Office Building, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510
HARRY REID
NEVADA
202-224-3542
email
522 Hart Senate Office Bldg, Washington, DC 20510
BOB CASEY
PENNSYLVANIA
202-224-6324
email
393 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
When you contact your Senator to tell them to
Pass This Jobs Bill Now
if your Senator is not on the list of co-sponsors above, also tell them to
Repeal DOMA Now
The fight for equality thanks you.