Tag Archives: Defense of Marriage Act

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a message from Joe Solmonese …Our enemies are relentless – we need your help


You can be a leader in helping us defend critical victories in the fight for equality. All it will take is 67 cents a day – less than the cost of a candy bar or a bottle of water.

An end to the hateful Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Critical protections for same-sex couples. Constant pressure on Congress – and unyielding work to secure lasting marriage equality in state after state.

Will you be one of the select few – the HRC Partners – who don’t just join these fights, but lead our movement to victory?

By midnight tonight, HRC needs 100 people like you to take their support to the next level with a monthly gift

Why give monthly?

www.hrc.org

•It’s easy on your budget, and it goes a long way. Most of us don’t think twice about keeping the lights on or the car insured – aren’t fundamental rights just as essential?

•The enemy is relentless, shameless, and animated by hatred. A Congress elected to tackle economic issues has set its sights on defending discrimination at any cost. It takes steady resources to fight back with national grassroots pressure, direct lobbying, public education programs, and hard-hitting media campaigns.

•Monthly giving is the right wing‘s bread and butter. We need to match our opponents – gift for gift, dollar for dollar. Or, to put it a finer point on it, for every 67 cents they pour in, we must do the same. These are the critical funds we use to counter right-wing lies and push back assaults on equality – all at a moment’s notice.

That’s why we need you to become an HRC Partner by midnight TONIGHT and claim your eco-friendly tote as a thank-you gift.

Now’s not the time to relent – we can’t afford to give one inch back to the radical right. Take the next step with us, and help us ensure we don’t.

Warmly,

Joe Solmonese

President

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Don’t let your tax dollars pay for discrimina​tion …


This is how Congress is spending its time.

Right now, behind closed doors, Republican House leaders are deciding exactly how they’ll use our tax dollars to protect the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

And more than 90 right-wing lawmakers are wasting Congress’s time on a resolution condemning President Obama and declaring that same-sex couples should be denied equal rights. Some are even talking about impeaching the president for his principled stance against DOMA.

Meanwhile, as right-wing groups vilify gay members of Congress, we’re showing every lawmaker that a majority of Americans – both straight and LGBT – want DOMA repealed.

We need 535 more straight allies to join HRC in the next 24 hours so that we have the resources to get our message to all 535 members of Congress. Can you help fund this fight?

www.hrc.org

Join HRC in the next 24 hours with an urgent gift to fight DOMA and stand up for equality.

DOMA’s sole purpose is to deny married, same-sex couples the protections straight married couples enjoy: Social Security survivor benefits, joint tax filing, taking leave to care for a spouse, and more.

In the past few weeks, we’ve sent more than 170,000 letters to Congress calling out this discrimination. We’ve also released a new poll showing that a majority of Americans have no patience for these antics.1 They want Congress to focus on creating jobs – not defending DOMA.

Straight allies’ voices are critical in our fight to show Republican House leaders that they’re out of step with the American majority.

We refuse to be quiet. We’re standing up to right-wing ideologues, rallying support and fighting for DOMA repeal bills in the House and Senate. We’re continuously highlighting the scary truth about DOMA in the press. And we’re making sure your voice is heard in Congress on this issue.

This is not a test – equality for loving couples and families is on the line.

Declare your support as a straight ally. Stand up to hate – chip in now.    www.hrc.org

I know you’re disgusted by our opponents’ hypocrisy and that you’re eager for progress. From the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. hate crimes law to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal, we’ve shown we can get things done together. I’m hoping you’ll stand with us today.

Keep up the fight,

Joe Solmonese

President

1 A new poll from HRC and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research shows 51 percent of Americans oppose DOMA while 34 percent favor it. 54 percent of Americans want Congress to focus on jobs and only 32 percent would prefer Congress spend time defending DOMA.

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Congress’s new low …a message from Joe Solmonese

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Can they sink any lower?

Speaker John Boehner and Republican House leaders have now committed taxpayer money to a morally bankrupt effort to keep the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on the books.

Republican House leaders are defending DOMA in court and right-wing lawmakers have introduced an anti-LGBT resolution in the House.

But for the first time ever, we have bills in both houses of Congress to repeal DOMA.

And more than 90 U.S. representatives are wasting time on a mean-spirited resolution to reinforce DOMA by declaring same-sex couples unequal.

But here’s the catch. Our new poll shows they’re squarely at odds with a majority of Americans who think DOMA is just plain wrong.1

And starting this week, we have a new chance to fight back – now with hard data on our side.

The Respect for Marriage Act – a bill that would repeal DOMA – has just been introduced in both houses of Congress. But it won’t go anywhere unless thousands of people like you turn up the pressure on lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, starting immediately. Can you take one minute to send a letter now?

www.hrc.org

Make your voice heard. Tell Congress now is the time to toss DOMA for good.

The right-wing faction in Congress is so deeply committed to dialing back rights for LGBT Americans that nearly 100 of them are cosponsoring a resolution condemning President Obama for his brave decision last month to no longer defend DOMA in court.

As Americans struggle to recover from the recession, we just want our government to do right by us. But Republican House leaders are doing the exact opposite – committing taxpayer money and precious time to defend a law that most Americans oppose, and a social agenda that most Americans reject.

They want to continue denying loving couples the benefits of marriage. It’s outrageous – and the public doesn’t have the patience for it.

Thanks to the leadership of Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Jerry Nadler, we have a way of circumventing the defense of this law by Boehner and his cronies. Together, we can end DOMA, which denies legally married same-sex couples over 1,100 protections and responsibilities – and we can do it in the exact place it was first passed in 1996.

Join us in taking a stand for LGBT families everywhere. To make the Respect for Marriage Act a reality, your representatives in Congress need to hear from you.

Tell Congress: Repeal DOMA now!

Speaker Boehner doesn’t know what he’s up against as he goes all out to defend this discriminatory law. Our fight may have only just begun, but I know we’re fighting on the right side of history.

Thank you for everything you do – and for joining us in this effort.

To repeal,

Joe Solmonese

President

1 A new poll from HRC and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research shows 51 percent of Americans oppose DOMA while 34 percent favor it. 54 percent of Americans want Congress to focus on jobs and only 32 percent would prefer Congress spend time defending DOMA.

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It’s simply not right … a message from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand


Last year I helped lead the effort to overturn “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and I’m thrilled that very soon, LGBT Americans will be able to serve openly in our armed forces. This is a big victory for equality, but there’s still so far we have yet to go.

I believe every American should be able to marry the person they love. Yet in 1996, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (or DOMA) codified the discriminatory notion that marriage is only between a man and a woman.

DOMA denies same-sex couples the basic privileges enjoyed by straight couples, and prevents state-approved legal marriages from being recognized across the country.

This is wrong.

If we are to achieve full marriage equality for all, Congress must repeal DOMA now.

That’s why I’m proud to partner with Democracy for America to make sure the repeal of DOMA becomes a reality.

http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/561?akid=577.1480546.tmfy-d&t=1

Recently, President Obama ordered the Justice Department to stop defending DOMA in federal court. This is a huge first step, but the fact is that as long as DOMA remains on the books it will continue to be enforced until Congress repeals it legislatively.

Tomorrow, I will join Senator Feinstein as we introduce DOMA repeal legislation in the U.S. Senate.

Can I count on you to join us on the frontlines of this fight?

Please sign here to join the fight for marriage equality by urging Congress to repeal this discriminatory and unconstitutional law. >> http://act.democracyforamerica.com/go/561?akid=577.1480546.tmfy-d&t=2

It’s simply not right that my husband and I should be able to enjoy rights and privileges that LGBT Americans are denied.

Thank you for everything you do to ensure marriage equality for all Americans,

– Kirsten

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

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URGENT: House Republican​s preparing to defend DOMA!


In the wake of President Obama’s courageous decision to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), radical lawmakers have sunk to a new low.

Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor have spent this past week working to placate anti-LGBT members of Congress and their right wing base by indicating they will defend DOMA – no matter what it takes.

So much for their pledges to focus on jobs and the economy. These so-called fiscal conservatives are wasting Congress’s time and resources to defend discrimination.

We’ve never taken these attacks sitting down – and we can’t start now. Time and again, our opponents lash out when we make progress. And time and again we band together to stop them. We’ve got to do it again this week, with a rapid-response effort in Congress and beyond. Can you help now? www.hrc.org

In the past several weeks, HRC has helped drive major victories: civil unions in Hawaii and Illinois; unprecedented progress on marriage equality in Maryland, Rhode Island, and New York; and President Obama’s decision on DOMA. All of those phone calls, rallies, letters to Congress, meetings with lawmakers – they’re working.

But these victories have pushed our opponents to redouble their efforts to undermine equality.  www.hrc.org

So we’re at a crossroads. We can catapult off of these recent victories and others in Illinois and Hawaii, grab this momentum with both hands and lay a foundation now for a future of full marriage equality – or we can let the extreme right wing dictate America‘s political agenda.

Right-wing radicals know the tide is turning against them. It’s just making them more desperate. Only your generous grassroots support will help us stand strong. We must seize this moment. Are you with us    www.hrc.org

Thank you for helping us win – and for keeping this movement stro ng.

Best,

Joe Solmonese