In case you happen to have slept through the day yesterday, President Obama made civil rights history by coming out in support of full marriage equality. It was a watershed moment for our country and the LGBT movement.
But in a crass and cynical move, House Republicans used the occasion of yesterday’s presidential announcement to approve an anti-gay amendment to a piece of Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations legislation. Because they want you to know that regardless of what the President does, they still really, really despise Teh Gay.
From the Washington Blade:
The U.S. House voted late Wednesday night in favor of a measure that aims to stop the Obama administration from taking any action in violation of the Defense of Marriage Act — even though the administration continues to enforce the law.
In a 245-171 vote, House lawmakers approved the amendment, introduced by freshman Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas), as part of Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations legislation. The amendment reads, “None of the funds made available under this Act, may be used in contravention of the Defense of Marriage Act.”
Ian Thompson, legislative representative for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the amendment in effect does nothing because although the Justice Department is no longer defending DOMA in court, the Obama administration is still enforcing it.
“The Huelskamp Amendment is a solution in search of a problem,” Thompson said. “While there are multiple legal challenges to DOMA working their way through the federal courts, it is still binding. This amendment serves absolutely no purpose other than to score political points at the expense of gay and lesbian couples.”
After the Obama administration declared DOMA unconstitutional, the Justice Department filed legal briefs against the anti-gay law and sent Justice Department attorneys to argue against the statute in court during oral arguments. However, the administration continues to enforce the statute, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage.
According to Roll Call newspaper, Huelskamp had initially planned an amendment that would barred the use of funds for arguing against DOMA in court — which, if passed into law, would have had real impact. Huelskamp ultimately didn’t press forward with that amendment.
Huelskamp reportedly said he introduced the amendment not only because the Justice Department stopped defending DOMA in court, but also because of Vice President Joe Biden’s endorsement of same-sex marriage Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“The most immediate reason was the comments of the vice president of the United States,” Huelskamp was quoted as saying. “Stating his position is fine, but you tie that together with the issues with the lawsuit in California in which, essentially, the attorney general walked away from DOMA and said, ‘I’m not going to defend that.’”
Unbelievable. I’m with Andrew Sullivan on this: We’re watching “the slow beaching of the elderly, white GOP on the shore of a multi-cultural and increasingly tolerant America.” Oh, the humanity.
Enjoy the view as society passes you by and your bigoted views recede further and further into history, dudes.
Okay, now where are all the GOProud and Log Cabin Republican members telling us how we should support the Republican party? Look, I am all for supporting your beliefs, not being single-issue voters, and working for change within the GOP, but come on! GOProud and LCR first need to clean their own house and get their party to change on LGBT rights before I even think about voting for the GOP. As the party stands now, I just want to ask gay conservatives, “Do you guys actually like digging your own graves?”
There are times when it is absolutely appropriate to be a single issue voter. Think about this: what if Santorum had clinched the GOP nomination? Would you have considered ALL the issues, or would it have been a no-brainer?
Republicans – they can’t help but be dickheads, can they?
GOProud and the LCR have SERIOUS self-image problems – its as if the Marx Brothers had joined the Nazi party.
I just f–kn hate republicans!
As I’ve probably ranted on this site, I will never vote for a republicon for the rest of my natural life. Even if a republicon isn’t personally anti marriage equality, anti-women and anti LGBT, they have embraced a party of inexorable antipathy towards us as has been repeatedly demonstrated over the past 30+ years. They owe ALL of us a generation of abject apologies on their fking knees, before they ever deserve even 3 seconds of our attention. If one is conservative and wants to run in a political race, s(he) would have to disavow the republicon party before I would EVER consider voting for them.
Paul, I will vote for Republicans, though I haven’t done so since John anderson in 1980 and Milton Marks in his last election– 1987?.
I’m just waiting to find one with principle that is in an election I can vote in. Unfortunately, Jerry Sanford isn’t running for mayor of oakland.
Any one hear writing these comments know what the Story of Sodom and Gomorah was all about? I know none of you believe the Bible. But you should read
the very first book in the Bible, it is called Genesis. I know it would be to hard for you to read the whole book of Genesis, so just read Chapter 19. This will give you a vision of what happened to people like you. The two cities were destroyed by God. Obama does not understand the story of Sodom and Gomorah. Study it, and repent.
Thank you for showing us that you have no idea what Sodom and Gamorah was about Dewey. If you did, you would know that it is your behavior that they were punished for. Not ours.
oops Hear should be here, please just jump all over me for not proof reading before clicking, the liberal homos will go wild over the wrong hear or here. Hey glbt if you see two bright men leading a man and three women out of San Francisco you better follow. Quickly
Why bother with your bloodcult’s literature when we obviously know more about it and how evil it is than you do, dewey?
Didn’t take long for this one to devolve into childish gibberish.
Hey rainbow , would you please explain you strange remark. I agree with Dewey. But maybe you can help me understand what you are talking about.
I didn’t say anything about your grammer Dewey. I’m also not the least bit surprised that you didn’t address my point about what Sodom and Gamorah were actually destroyed for.
The way I understand Genesis 19 , was God did not like what was going on with the perverts that lived in Sodom and sent two angles to take Righteous Lot and his wife and daughters out, Then he destroyed the cities. The homos even wanted to rape the Angels while they were there overnight. God made them go blind so they could not come in the house. Lots wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.
dewey, outside of an interest in the study of human history, why should anyone care about the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? What possible relevance does an ancient story permeated with superstition have for how I live my life in 2012? I don’t mean to demean ancient people for being superstitious – because that’s all they had to work with to explain their world – but in the 21st century we have a huge body of accumulated knowledge. Doesn’t it make a lot more sense to tap that knowledge rather than insisting that an ancient story is something more than nonsense?
Lot offered his virgin daughters to the mob in place of the angels and yet was still considered righteous. Tell me thewestbynorthwest, you you think it’s okay for a man to throw his virgin daughters to a mob to be gang-raped as Genesis clearly does?
Wow…Whodini wasn’t kidding when he said the freaks come out at night. In this case, the freaks reference a work that promotes things like slavery and the crudest and bloodiest example of tribalism.
Actually, my experience tells me that the freaks and trolls come out in early morning.
Sex between two men, or two women, or men or women with animals, is condemed by the bible , Obama should read his Bible. Also selling your self for sex for profit is condemed. Wake up folks. Read the bible. Download www. e-sword.net. It will help you understand the Bible.
The bible also says that owning slaves and throwing your virgin daughters to a mob to be gang-raped are both perfectly fine. What does that tell you about your precious bible’s morality tellingliesagain?
And now we discover our new visitor’s real purpose. Promoting malware.
On another note, is it just me or has the phrase “Wake up, people” (along with its variations) become an overused meme?
Was Homer Simpson’s use of the phrase “wake up people” the start of that meme or just a continuation of it?
No one said Lot was always doing everything righteous, he made mistakes, his wife made a mistake, his daughters later got him drunk and both got pregnant by him. People make mistakes God does not make mistakes. God does intervein for his people at times. For his plans to work out for the salvation of mankind. If you repent he gives understanding of the bible. Not many here have much though I see.
There could be some connection there, Phoenix.
As for the troll of 1000 names, understanding a work != “Parts of it either must be taken literally or were a metaphor that has whatever meaning I want it to depending on how I feel about said parts.”, and it doesn’t matter how often you lot try to say it is.
Lot was always called the only righteous man in Sodom. He was never referred to as doing anything unrighteous. So clearly the people who wrote Genesis saw nothing wrong with a man throwing his daughters to a mob to be gang-raped. That doesn’t speak well to the bible’s use as a moral guide.
And if God doesn’t make mistakes, than the fact that gay people have always existed and will continue to do so leaves only one conclusion, that God wants us to exist, and thefefor, you are violating God’s will for using the bible as an excuse to persecute us.
Also, the fact that you would be so nonchalant about a “man” who was more than willing to throw his daughters to the mob to be gang-raped reveals how utterly depraved you are.
Rainbow condems the bible over and over again, I see. The real reason is the bible condems his peverted life style, and he knows that someday he will have to answer for breaking the Laws of God.
Big words coming from a follower of the bloodcult that thinks nothing of child predation but has the audacity to be outraged at LGBTs and people of differing skin tones.
So you don’t have an excuse for why your precious bible condones slavery and gang-rape. Instead you seek to avoid the issue by resorting to ad-hominem attacks against the people who dare to treat your opinion as anything less than gospel.