At least under the Obama administration. Please help prove me wrong.
This morning's reveal of the brief just filed by the DOJ reiterated for me that Obama firmly believes this is an issue left to the states. In response to the brief, Droogie's recent diary on the rec lists calls for us to write letters to Obama asking for his support in repealing DOMA. But unless we confront this "state's rights" issue head on, I think we will continue to see action like this from the Obama DOJ.
Unlike others here I respectfully disagree with the idea that this conservatively argued brief is some part of a master plan to undermine the arguments in support of DOMA. Obama has publicly opined that he will not fight state laws. The now infamous comparison of incestuous and underage marriages to same sex marriage deals squarely with the issue of a state's right to recognize marriages according to their own standards of decency.
from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
Barack Obama has always believed that same-sex couples should enjoy equal rights under the law, and he will continue to fight for civil unions as President. He respects the decision of the California Supreme Court, and continues to believe that states should make their own decisions when it comes to the issue of marriage.
Now that we have seen the Obama DOJ in action, I believe we need to coordinate our response. What exactly are our arguments against leaving the issue of same sex marriage to the states? In response to a comment I made in Droogie's diary, DK user eclare writes:
DOMA is federal legislation that defines marriage as between one man and one woman for all federal purposes. There is a states rights component to it, but that is not the only thing it does. DOMA made marriage a federal issue, so the states rights argument doesn't wash.
I think this is a good start but we need to expand on this. If we do not I honestly fear that we WILL fail. To those of you who are in the process of writing your letters, I urge you to consider this before putting anything in the mail.
Update from the comments below, an argument you might use in your letters:
Shouldn't a man be able to walk free and enjoy the same rights whether he walks down Castro Street or in the streets of Laramie, Wyoming?
And for a practical matter, DOMA really doesn't leave it to the states because all the rights and benefits of those who are married in Connecticut, Massachussetts, Iowa, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, and California (those grandfathered in) can't be federally recognized.
-SoCalLiberal