American Foundation for Equal Rights

Marriage News Blog

Important Editorial on the Defense of Marriage Act

President Clinton has weighed in on DOMA in a Washington Post editorial.

Here are some highlights:

On March 27, DOMA will come before the Supreme Court, and the justices must decide whether it is consistent with the principles of a nation that honors freedom, equality and justice above all, and is therefore constitutional. As the president who signed the act into law, I have come to believe that DOMA is contrary to those principles and, in fact, incompatible with our Constitution.

 

I know now that, even worse than providing an excuse for discrimination, the law is itself discriminatory. It should be overturned.

Americans have been at this sort of a crossroads often enough to recognize the right path. We understand that, while our laws may at times lag behind our best natures, in the end they catch up to our core values. One hundred fifty years ago, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln concluded a message to Congress by posing the very question we face today: “It is not ‘Can any of us imagine better?’ but ‘Can we all do better?’ ”

The answer is of course and always yes. Read the full op/ed >

Topics: Blog, DOMA