President Obama Calls for Repeal of Defense of Marriage Act
- Religion Today
- Updated Mar 11, 2013
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During a fundraising event in New York City Monday, President Obama for the first time personally called for the repeal of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), WORLD News Service reports. DOMA was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 and defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman for purposes of federal laws and regulations. It also protects individual states from being forced to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. "If you believe in states' rights, then we need DOMA," said former Oklahoma Sen. Don Nickels, who sponsored the Senate version of the law. Though the Obama administration has done several things to undermine DOMA over the last four years -- including not defending it in court when it's attacked -- the president's address Monday marked the first time he's publicly called for the law to be repealed or struck down outright.