[Marxism] NYT protests administration defense of anti-gay marriage law

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

By the way, the last item I submitted on the alleged significance of
Khamenei's decision to allow the Guardian Council to assess the electionwas
also NYT with the following URL:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/world/middleeast/16cleric.html

Fred



June 16, 2009
Editorial
A Bad Call on Gay Rights 
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/opinion/16tue1.html

The Obama administration, which came to office promising to protect gay
rights but so far has not done much, actually struck a blow for the other
side last week. It submitted a disturbing brief in support of the Defense of
Marriage Act, which is the law that protects the right of states to not
recognize same-sex marriages and denies same-sex married couples federal
benefits. The administration needs a new direction on gay rights.

A gay couple married under California law is challenging the act in federal
court. In its brief, the Justice Department argues that the couple lack
legal standing to do so. It goes on to contend that even if they have
standing, the case should be dismissed on the merits.

The brief insists it is reasonable for states to favor heterosexual
marriages because they are the ?traditional and universally recognized form
of marriage.? In arguing that other states do not have to recognize same-sex
marriages under the Constitution?s ?full faith and credit? clause, the
Justice Department cites decades-old cases ruling that states do not have to
recognize marriages between cousins or an uncle and a niece.

These are comparisons that understandably rankle many gay people. In a
letter to President Obama on Monday, Joe Solmonese, president of the Human
Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization, said, ?I cannot overstate the
pain that we feel as human beings and as families when we read an argument,
presented in federal court, implying that our own marriages have no more
constitutional standing than incestuous ones.? 

The brief also maintains that the Defense of Marriage Act represents a
?cautious policy of federal neutrality? ? an odd assertion since the law
clearly discriminates against gay couples. Under the act, same-sex married
couples who pay their taxes are ineligible for the sort of federal benefits
? such as Social Security survivors? payments and joint tax returns ? that
heterosexual married couples receive.

In the presidential campaign, President Obama declared that he would work to
overturn the Defense of Marriage Act. Now, the administration appears to be
defending it out of a sense of obligation to support a validly enacted
Congressional law. There is a strong presumption that the Justice Department
will defend federal laws, but it is not an inviolable rule.

If the administration does feel compelled to defend the act, it should do so
in a less hurtful way. It could have crafted its legal arguments in general
terms, as a simple description of where it believes the law now stands.
There was no need to resort to specious arguments and inflammatory language
to impugn same-sex marriage as an institution.

The best approach of all would have been to make clear, even as it defends
the law in court, that it is fighting for gay rights. It should work to
repeal ?don?t ask, don?t tell,? the law that bans gay men and lesbians in
the military from being open about their sexuality. It should push hard for
a federal law banning employment discrimination. It should also work to
repeal the Defense of Marriage Act in Congress.

The administration has had its hands full with the financial crisis, health
care, Guantánamo Bay and other pressing matters. In times like these, issues
like repealing the marriage act can seem like a distraction ? or a political
liability. But busy calendars and political expediency are no excuse for
making one group of Americans wait any longer for equal rights.




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