The Obama administration has urged a US court to dismiss a lawsuit by gay married couples from Massachusetts who say they were unlawfully denied federal marriage benefits....
"No court has found such a right to federal benefits to be fundamental – and the federal courts that have considered the question in the context of DOMA (Defence of Marriage Act) itself have rejected such a claim," the Justice Department said in the filing.
The department urged that the lawsuits be dismissed because their claims either were without merit or the individuals did not have a legal right to sue.
[For the full article, see here.]
If you have the stomach to read it, here is the full Memorandum Of Law In Support Of Defendants' Motion To Dismiss [Thanks to AmericaBlog.]
As I wrote to a friend of mine and previously posted on this blog, although I knew from the very beginning that Obama was no champion of equal rights for LGBT people, I voted for him because I thought he was the lesser of two evils.
However, had I known the depth of his treachery to LGBT people, I never would have voted for him, and would have voted for McCain/Palin instead. As stupid as much of their rhetoric and mind-sets are, they at least were honest about their prejudices and values.
Obama is, in my opinion, a traitor, a liar, and a coward in regard to LGBT rights, who is also out of his league as President for other assorted reasons that are beyond the purview of this blog to deal with; he is likely to be a one-term President, if the Republicans can get someone with "charm" and name recognition to run against him in 2012.
And, particularly given his cynical betrayal of LGBT people, I will not be at all unhappy should that scenario occur!
7 comments:
Interesting, at least to me, is that I NEVER have felt ¨the love¨ from Barack Obama (as a matter of fact I feel a bit like he must feel about LGBT Democrats the same way as many Republicans feel about the lunatic religious fringe fundies).
Still, I like him, support him and pray that he survives this current and vicious attempt on his person (I was at College in the Bay Area and woke up to ¨The President has been shot in Dallas¨ on my clock radio one morning) because of the racists who ARE white selfish and bitter thugs pretending to be Christians.
Yes, I support President Obama for many reasons and I wish him well in all that he does (and attempts to do) as a person as a African American.
As a Gay adult I lived to experience a partner of 14 years murdered just for ¨being¨ at 35 years of age. I certainly don´t think President Obama would have agreed with such a vile display of prejudice and fear/hate that came to pass in the life of my beloved.
I still trust Barack Obama to do the right thing as he is being cautious about inciting a All-American riot the likes that none of us wish to live through.
The opposition, they would literally kill for power (and have as we can all note from their past eight years of a deadly and exploitive administration who didn´t give a damn about anyones lives except their own).
Thanks for the comment, Leonardo. The tragedy is that the malice that allowed your beloved to be killed is facilitated not only by the Reactionary fringe but also by those who are in a position to set a tone for equality and refuse to set that tone; actively work against equality when their electioneering promises were the very opposite.
Obama has betrayed LGBT people, and we must acknowledge that fact. For example, he has allowed gifted military personnel to be discharged under DADT when a simple memo from him could have prevented that abomination; he has affirmed DOMA in federal court, equating same-sex marriage with incest and pedophilia.
Of course, I don't want some racist White Supremacist setting the tone for this country, but I also don't want some cynical traitor to his promises to LGBT people to set the tone for this country, when LGBT people are the only minority group treated as second-class citizens, denied full and equal rights that routinely accrue to heterosexuals. Best wishes, Jerry.
I don't know. I read your post and I believe what you said, but I like to hang on to a shred of hope that whenever Obama gets beyond his healthcare legislation problems right now that we are not far down the list of people to help. I sincerely hope Obama will eventually tend to our issues, and they are numerous, perhaps too numerous for him to tackle all of them even if he is president for eight years. I believe strongly that if he can convince the military to let us serve, that equal marriage rights are not terribly far behind, though perhaps ten years.
Hi Andy: I don't think Obama has any interest or desire to facilitate equality for LGBT people. For example, he could immediately issue an Executive Order stopping DADT, yet he has chosen not to do so. He not only supported DOMA in federal court, but invoked the specter of incest and pedophilia in "making his case." The issue of Health Care, or any other issue, didn't mandate such a betrayal of Gay people!
I think that Obama is cynically homophobic, and has absolutely no interest in equal rights for LGBT people. And that is a bitter pill to swallow, particularly given his electioneering rhetoric designed to get the Gay and progressive vote. Best wishes, Jerry.
Dear Jerry and friends,
I still think ¨timing¨ is a grave concern for all of us...LGBT or Heterosexual...the Country is on emotional overload at the moment and the poll numbers for Obamas actions aren´t good...there is a tension in the air that I´ve never felt before (saying quite a lot as a youngman in the early 60´s) and I believe there is a difference between being prudent and using common sense and being a traitor...my opinion only but thanks for allowing me to read yours and state mine...and no, I don´t feel Obamas love even though I wish a way out from under for ALL the marginalized, persecuted, victimized and oppressed.
Best to all,
Leonardo Ricardo
I always appreciate your comments, Leonardo. You say, "..I believe there is a difference between being prudent and using common sense and being a traitor...." Prudence doesn't require Obama to do nothing regarding things he could easily do, as I mentioned in my previous comments. By doing the very opposite of what he promised, and what we reasonably expected of him regarding the pursuit of LGBT rights, I do view him as a traitor. There is nothing more important, in my opinion, than seeing to it that there are no second-class citizens in the United States, and the President is in the unique position to both take action and to set the tone so that Congress can take the action needed to redress this blatant inequality. Besides empty (and, in my view, cynical) rhetoric regarding equal rights for Gay people, Obama has allowed DADT and DOMA to continue, and has facilitated both of these policies; the latter, particularly, in a most despicable fashion. Take care, Jerry.
Nobody dragged Barack Obama kicking and screaming into the Oval Office. He wanted the job! Now that he's got it, he's got to do it, no matter how difficult that may be. If the expectations on him are unrealistic, they were also unrealistic for those who preceded him as Commander-in-Chief. He should be held to his campaign promises just like any other candidate! I, for one, will not be offering up any excuses for him.
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