Activists: Obama Admin Falsely Claiming They Had To Defend Marriage Ban

America Blog:

Ben Smith at Politico just reported the following statement from the Department of Justice over their brief, filed last night, comparing gay marriage to incest:

As it generally does with existing statutes, the Justice Department is defending the law on the books in court. The president has said he wants to see a legislative repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act because it prevents LGBT couples from being granted equal rights and benefits. However, until Congress passes legislation repealing the law, the administration will continue to defend the statute when it is challenged in the justice system.

Read the whole story: America Blog

Comments

[barbwiregrrl]

I am a federal worker who has retired. My wife has no health insurance for one reason and one reason only.....because she is married to a woman. These are not benefits that are handouts. I worked long and hard at the Veterans Administration.
If we were an opposite se.x couple she would have insurance. Tell me how this is fair? Tell me that fix health care and she would have insurance. I say BS I say
fix DOMA and she would have insurance. I didn't work for the feds for 27 years to be crapped on when I voted for the man of CHANGE. The only change I see so far is a different man telling me I am less than. Shame on him.

[barbwiregrrl]

WOW!!
Obama to extend benefits to gay federal workers
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By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 10 mins ago
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama plans to extend health care and other benefits to the gay and lesbian partners of federal employees. White House officials say Obama plans to announce decision on Wednesday in the Oval Office. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the president had not yet made the announcement.

The move would give partners of federal employees access to health care and financial benefits such as relocation fees for moves. Officials say Obama would detail more details of the decision on Wednesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090617/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_gay_benefits_3

[barbwiregrrl]

The ranting from the so called "supporters" president are thin veiled composites of right wing big.ot pdressing up as POC to distract us from the conversation that truly needs to take place. WE need to not fall for this and instead work to educate and not allow the conversation to turn into a fake war between LGBT people and POC.
Please do not take their bait let them run back to O'Reilly site.

[barbwiregrrl]

After much thought I have come to the conclusion that if we in the LGBT community continue to try and discuss these issues with the folks who are here mainly to cause strife between the LGBT community and people of color we will not move forward to true education.
These folks here claiming to be followers of O and supporters of the POC are the frauds. They are just here to cause friction and display their homo.phobia. I suggest we just ignore them and have our conversation, vent our frustration and let htem rant all they want.

[x4faith]

Did I miss something during the past EIGHT YEARS!? Seems to me ALL of the groups are taking advantage of President Obama and are making FALSE CLAIMS against him! He's doing the best he can with what he has to work with! Lest they for get we are FIGHTING TWO WARS, A DOWNTURNED ECONOMY, THE POSSIBILITY OF ANOTHER WITH IRAN, thanks to Bush/Cheney and NORTH KOREA! WTF...SIT DOWN and WAIT...It's NOT like you haven't been waiting EIGHT YEARS...What's a few months or another year going to hurt?

[gaydm]

Well they better get busy, because they have all these gay issues they are going to fix as well.

[StevenKeirstead]

What is false in this article? I don't think you have a valid point.

[Matt Carter]

Wow. You're right. When you say it like that, it appears that Obama is completely justified in lying to the LGBT community to get their votes. How selfish of us to hold him to his campaign promises when there are straight people who clearly need to be taken care of first. Shame on us.

[barbwiregrrl]

False claims that he said he would do away with DOMA and DADT?

Wow imagine that holding some one accountable is now see as taking advantage of. A friend of mine says the reason he thinks BHO is doing this is that he has massive gaydar and that he makes McGreevy look Het.

[x4faith]

Did I miss something during the past EIGHT YEARS!? Seems to me ALL of the groups are taking advantage of President Obama and are making FALSE CLAIMS against him! He's doing the best he can with what he has to work with! Lest they for get we are FIGHTING TWO WARS, A DOWNTURNED ECONOMY, THE POSSIBILITY OF ANOTHER WITH IRAN, thanks to Bush/Cheney and NORTH KOREA! WTF...SIT DOWN and WAIT...It's NOT like you haven't been waiting EIGHT YEARS...What's a few months or another year going to hurt?

[AnotherTry]

FU very much

[Marnie1]

Sure they have to make the court date and show up in court. That does not mean that they have make a presentation.

[CindyV]

I'm sick of my community being used as a political football. Democrat or Republican, it really doesn't matter who's in the White House for LGBT folks. It's the same old, same old. Many of us voted for Obama because he promised us a change. Some of us voted for him because voting for McCain was out of the question. Nevertheless, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

[BoyInBOYCOTT]

A gay/lesbian in this administration needs to use a calendar to point out to the president there is about 10 days before MILLIONS of our tribe gather in nearly every major city, to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of a 3 day RIOT.....just saying.

[zetacplus]

I recommend all our gay brothers and sisters out there, and all our straight allies, contact the president and express your outrage at the position his administration took on DOMA, after he said he would work hard to repeal it. I've include the email link to the president.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/

[felisa11]

The president has said he wants to see a legislative repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act because it prevents LGBT couples from being granted equal rights and benefits. However, until Congress passes legislation repealing the law, the administration will continue to defend the statute when it is challenged in the justice system.

Can you not read and comprehend what you have read?

[huffpomojo]

He was under no obligation to defend it. The big problem isn't that the DOJ moved to defend it, it's that the brief itself is extremely damaging and frankly it's repulsive.

http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/choice-to-defend-doma-and-its.html

[rharris513]

All the DOJ had to do was to motion to dismiss the suit on a technicality that the plaintiffs did not have legal standing. Instead he used all the inflammatory right-wing arguments that will greatly damage the case for LG BT equality more than any republican president ever has.

[StevenKeirstead]

Comprehending the Obama DOJ brief and their excuses does not mean we have to think this was the right thing to do. It is immoral to defend an unjust, probably unconstitutional law.

[zetacplus]

I believe throwing us under the bus is a calculated move by Obama. He wants to appeal to a wider audience other than democrats, why?, who the F knows. He is courting the right, and in the process, stepping on the people who elected him. Yes, I know he is the president for all the people but when you make promises like he did and then go back on them, that's foul, especially for something that he knows we hold very dear to us. But the way I see it he probably feels that if he loses 3 million gay votes, he will gain 6 million right wing votes, a net gain for him. He's not a president of change, he's a president of numbers. All he has done so far is to give billions of dollars to criminal banks and corrupt CEO's at the taxpayers expense.

That's not change I can believe in.

[FearlessFreep]

Actually, he's just flying by the seat of his pants.

[Peter007]

Its not right wing voters he is concerned about , its the church leaders and church groups in major cities that he has to appease.

[BoyInBOYCOTT]

America Blog has good coverage that one of the Obama Justice Dept lawyers is a Bush holdover, and MORMON...that explains the gratuitous foul homobigotted shots this hateful wretch stuck in the brief.

Another reason to continue the Boycott of Utah tourism, that will eventually hurt the Mormon mothership, and it'll be Utah residents telling them to MIND YOUR OWN BU$INE$$.

[ReedYoung]

Good to know, changes the whole story!
http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/mormon-bush-holdover-filed-anti-gay.html

[Peter007]

Out of the three political parties, only one is against the Defense of Marriage Act, yet the gay community votes with the party that supports the DOM act. Why?

[dali partin]

Because the risk of allowing the party that wants to prohibit gay rights for all states across the board is too great.

[FrReader]

Last time I checked there are only really two viable parties. And if by "the party that supports the DOM act," you mean "the party that was in power when DOMA was passed," then the answer is because the candidate for that same party has promised to overturn it.

So... I'm not seeing where the confusion is.

[Peter007]

Obama does not support gay marriage. Biden voted for the DOM act. No confusion there. Its black and white.

[demrepub]

Replace gay with black and would you Obama apologists honestly be as patient as you would like our gay brothers and sisters to be? Doubtful. So stop being Obama apologists on a position of such deep principle when you know HE IS WRONG ON DADT AND DOMA!

[Tanyars5]

Gay struggles doesn't equal black people struggles so I would not compare the two.

[dali partin]

The oppression of some is the oppression of all. Inviting a comparison is not saying they are exactly the same. No group has ownership of oppression.

[Tanyars5]

Those who call President Obama a fraud and a liar please be aware that people will respond. You don't own the blogoshere. If you want to criticize the man then do so with facts.
The thing I am happy to see is the influx of different opinions on this website. For months the commenters here were able to say whatever without much pushback.
I think people have had enough of the misinformation.

[demrepub]

here here. The misinformation from the left has to be thwarted with facts.

[ReedYoung]

That's "hear, hear."

Q: Why can't you Republicans get ANYTHING right?
A: Inbreeding.

[QuietNetworker]

Do you have an example of this?

I've never seen progressives
afraid to push.

And, do you not see the deep
irony in your suggesting that
the "critics" need to be silenced
by the "push back?"

[Oakland]

Obama lies - and that's a surpise?

Republicans, Blue Dogs and corporate Democrats are the enemy. We need to speak softer and find a bigger stick.