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Conservative who helped write DOMA is now lobbying for its repeal
April 2, 2012
By Scottie Thomaston
Back in 2009, the author of the Defense of Marriage Act, former House representative Bob Barr, repudiated the Defense of Marriage Act and called for its repeal, writing:
I’ve wrestled with this issue for the last several years and come to the conclusion that DOMA is not working out as planned. In testifying before Congress against a federal marriage amendment, and more recently while making my case to skeptical Libertarians as to why I was worthy of their support as their party’s presidential nominee, I have concluded that DOMA is neither meeting the principles of federalism it was supposed to, nor is its impact limited to federal law.In effect, DOMA’s language reflects one-way federalism: It protects only those states that don’t want to accept a same-sex marriage granted by another state. Moreover, the heterosexual definition of marriage for purposes of federal laws — including, immigration, Social Security survivor rights and veteran’s benefits — has become a de facto club used to limit, if not thwart, the ability of a state to choose to recognize same-sex unions.
Along with his reversal, many former supporters of the Defense of Marriage Act (mostly Democrats) have come out in favor of its repeal, and signed on as cosponsors of the Respect for Marriage Act, the repeal bill:
In addition to Sen. Robert Menendez (NJ), the list of current US Senators who voted for DOMA in 1996 but are now co-sponsoring the Respect for Marriage Act includes Sen. Jeff Bingaman (NM), Sen. Benjamin Cardin (MD), Sen. Richard Durbin (IL), Sen. Tom Harkin (IA), Sen. Herb Kohl (WI), Sen. Frank Lautenberg (NJ), Sen. Patrick Leahy (VT), Sen. Carl Levin (MI), Sen. Barbara Mikulski (MD), Sen. Patty Murray (WA) and Sen. Charles Schumer (NY).
The Department of Justice also came out in opposition, writing a brief which admitted the government has had significant role in the history of discrimination against gays and lesbians and telling federal courts that laws affecting gays and lesbians should be considered ‘suspect.’
And there’s the Republican defense of the law which has been quiet and largely behind the scenes. The House didn’t vote on the decision to defend the law, leaving it to a panel to decide whether the Bipartisan Legal Advisory group would step in. And Boehner and the lawyer defending DOMA, Paul Clement, still refuse to state their opinion of the law despite renewed criticism from both sides. This criticism is unlikely to subside anytime soon, since House Republicans just decided to defend DOMA against a US Army veteran who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and is not legally allowed access to spousal benefits because of the law. Republicans are increasingly realizing that they won’t win an argument if their position is to strongly oppose marriage equality.
And now, a former Republican staffer who helped write the Defense of Marriage Act is now lobbying for its repeal:
Lehman, now 52, was chief counsel for the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution. She says she and her colleagues working on DOMA didn’t think it would do much harm. They had two goals in mind: to prevent the federal government from recognizing any marriage between gay couples, and to ensure that states didn’t have to recognize gay couples married in other states.As it turns out, DOMA has hurt gay and lesbian couples in a multitude of ways.
Lehman is a lesbian with a long-term partner and she says she came out to fellow Republican staffers and they didn’t have a problem with it:
Lehman, who was and still is staunchly conservative, decided after several months to start telling her peers about her relationship with Conway. Many worked for powerful Republican leaders in Congress. The first friend she told was in Hastert’s office; the next was in House Majority Whip Roy Blunt’s office. Both were supportive of her relationship. She went on to tell more friends, and none had a negative reaction. In fact, many were more concerned about something else besides her sexual orientation.“They were like, ‘Well, tell us about Julie. Is she a Republican?’ I’m like, ‘Yes.’ And they were like, ‘Oh, okay,’” she says. “Honestly, that was it.”
Her opposition came at a time when she realized that tradition shouldn’t dictate laws like this because it leads to discrimination that people later regret:
Lehman’s turning point on DOMA came when she read a 2009 legal brief by Ted Olson, the Republican attorney who surprised many by helping to bring a lawsuit against Proposition 8, California’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. In his brief, Olson, who was formerly President George W. Bush’s solicitor general, mapped out various groups of people who are allowed to get married — people in prison, convicted rapists — while gay and lesbian couples cannot.A lot of things in the U.S. that had been done one way “were crap and we got rid of them,” Lehman says, thinking back to Olson’s brief. “Traditionally, women didn’t work outside the home. Traditionally, in the South, black people sat in the back of the bus. It’s all part of things traditionally that have changed for the better.”
Along with the repeal bill and its growing list of supporters, DOMA has now reached the appeals court level. The First Circuit Court of Appeals will hear Gill v. OPM, a challenge to the law, later this week.
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12 Comments Leave a Comment
1.
Richard Lyon | April 2, 2012 at 3:39 pm
There really are some intelligent conservatives out there who are capable of responding to a changing world. I remember when word first got out that Ted Olson was putting together a court challenge to prop 8. The gay blogs were aflame with theories of an evil right wing conspiracy. Look what we got from a right wing attorney and a right wing judge. People don;t fit neatly into tight little boxes.
2.
Gregory in SLC | April 2, 2012 at 3:51 pm
We can use any ally we can get! This is the year to dump DOMA!
(another good piece Scottie..thank you!)
3.
Rich | April 2, 2012 at 4:03 pm
One of those intelligent conservatives is NOT a man named Victor Golf somebody who posted on the NOM blog. It was a bit back in the column chastising Maggie for NOM's racist tactics just revealed. Poor Victor must have reached his limit. His threat?, to sue, imprison ( gee, perhaps spank) everyone who dares to post contrary comments on a NOM blog site. I was so afraid, I, I,I posted some pretty contrary stuff. Am I in danger?
4.
Sagesse | April 2, 2012 at 4:17 pm
@
5.
jasonjenkins8 | April 2, 2012 at 6:43 pm
Let's try to understand this Lehman person: a lesbian, she claims that she didn't anticipate that a bill that required the Federal government to discriminate and expressly permitted states to do so would lead to discriminatory practices.
6.
karen in kalifornia | April 2, 2012 at 7:53 pm
I'm with you jason. Lehman still needs to buy a clue claiming to now be an ally notwithstanding. I mean really. How long did it take her to realize that DOMA limits here liberty and discriminates against her and her relationship?
7.
Bob | April 2, 2012 at 8:07 pm
I think the important point is that she gets it now,,, enough to admit she made that decision for whatever wrong reason in the past,,,,, no different than a lot of republicans who are just waking up,,, maybe she's just beginning to understand the damage she's done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm glad she's on the right side now!!!
8.
Steve | April 3, 2012 at 5:12 am
They have had to be very naive and short sighted to think that DOMA could somehow work at all. Even within the parameters they set. But of course they refused to study the actual effects as proposed by some people then
9.
MJFargo | April 3, 2012 at 7:55 am
I think this just highlights the various points of view within our community, which, if you think about it, is natural if not necessarily desirable. During the 60's and 70's the various points of view within the African American community would be a good example for comparison. Those "slow-to-boil" for equality are welcome and bring new passion to a movement. The Log Cabin Republicans who, in some quarters, were viewed as dragging us down have contributed significantly to the fight to overturn DOMA and DADT. I suppose we should celebrate Ms. Lehman's dawning light, and no one better than the words of Ted Olson to lead us all. (And I never thought I'd be one trumpeting Mr. Olson until I heard his words during the trial.)
10.
Lymis | April 3, 2012 at 9:41 am
Yes. Seriously, reading a NOM blog is a gateway to all sorts of dangerous wingnut behaviors. You're playing with fire!
Oh, you mean in danger FROM them? Stay away from the snack table, you could lose an arm. Other than that, make sure you're registered and vote, and that should help keep you safe. As soon as their money runs out, they're toast.
11.
Lymis | April 3, 2012 at 9:49 am
At the time DOMA was passed, no state had passed a marriage equality bill, and it didn't look like any were likely to. Even the Hawaii Court decision that precipitated everything specifically gave enough time before implementation to smoothly pass the anti-gay amendment that shot it down.
I think she deluded herself that DOMA had no effect whatsoever, since marriage wasn't legal (and wasn't going to be legal) anywhere, and actually helped forestall a knee-jerk anti-gay marriage federal constitutional amendment that would have had far more chance of success at that time than it would today.
But the idea that it was a good idea? That it would create no lasting issues? That is was a conservative idea? Bah. More cowardice from the closet – our own closet cases are our worst enemies. Now that she's out and realizes that even her colleagues don't care, she's got a far more realistic view.
From a purely practical, cynical, pragmatic view, there are ways in which DOMA wasn't as bad then as it has turned out to be over time. I could buy that sort of argument, or even one that said it was the better of a number of bad choices (though I am not certain I would agree.)
Be nice to hear her say "I was wrong," though, or even "I wish I hadn't feel the need to do that." Or, "thanks to all the people who put their lives, careers, relationships, and families on the line for me so that I could be in the place I am today, and I hope I can make things better for future LGBT people."
As it is, she comes across as one of the many conservative gay people who acts like equality is some brand new idea they invented that nobody ever thought of before, rather than one they were actively fighting against.
12.
Steve | April 3, 2012 at 10:57 am
She is way too narcissistic to do that. Also notice how she only came around once it started to affect her. She your typical self-centered Republican.
It's also ridiculous how she acts like no one was out when this happened. It's true that things changed since then and that positive media portrayals were only starting to appear, but she is completely deluded when she thinks that no one was out before. But then, what can you expect from someone with a degree from Oral Roberts University?
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