"Here's the next front: repealing the so-called Defense of Marriage Act."
After yesterdays fabulous news regarding the certification of the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) I've seen the question asked in various forums, "What next?".
What next indeed. Well this morning I wake up and while checking Facebook (doing Facebook less and less by the way since Google+ - find me here and add me to your circles!) I see two back to back posts from the 'Barack Obama' page:
Yesterday the President certified the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell." Gays and lesbians will serve their country openly in 60 days.
Yay!!! Am I right? Can I get an ooh-rah for POTUS, for the Secretary of Defense, for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and most importantly for the many LGBT heroes who have tirelessly pushed for this since the days of Leonard Matlovich!?
Well, immediately following that post was this:
Now, the fight for equal rights moves on. Here's the next front: repealing the so-called Defense of Marriage Act.
Well thank you Mr. President! What a great idea! Let's keep a full court press going on the repeal of DOMA. You might recall earlier this week on Tuesday, Obama endorsed the DOMA repeal bill (Breaking: President Endorses DOMA Repeal Bill on Eve of Senate Hearings.)
The second post has a link that takes you to the barackobama.com website inviting you to sign up and TAKE A STAND FOR EQUAL RIGHTS.
The President has certified the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" — and gays and lesbians will now be able to serve openly in just 60 days.
But the fight for equal rights goes on. This week the President called for the full repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act — a law that has been discriminating against same-sex couples for almost 15 years.
Add your name to join our fight for equal rights.
Of course after signing up you are encouraged to make a donation to the campaign. So there is that. But, to me, it clearly signals recognition that the repeal of DOMA dovetails with the repeal of DADT since it was very clear in the presser that military spouses/families of LGB service members will not be able to enjoy the full benefits that the spouses/families of heterosexual service members partake of.
(T omitted as they wrongly continue to be excluded from service)
Now there are some here that continue to express the opinion that repeal of DOMA is dead in the water... but we haven't come this far from not trying. So don't tell me what can't be done, tell me how we get there from here.
So... who's ready for the next fight?