Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), the only openly lesbian Member of Congress, is
predicting passage of hate crimes legislation and repeal of DOMA (the
Defense of Marriage Act) in the next Congress regardless of who is
elected President. She told THE WASHINGTON BLADE, the newspaper in the
Nation's capital city appealing to homosexuals, that action on those two
measures will be her top priority in 2009.
The Republican Leadership managed to tie up the hate crimes bill last
year and this year as well. It would make discrimination against
homosexuals a Federal crime. Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) had
problems with his own caucus on the question of whether or not
transgender individuals should be included in the legislation.
DOMA was passed by the Republican-controlled Congress and signed into
law by President William J. (Bill) Clinton on the eve of the 1996
Democratic National Convention. Clinton signed the bill in the middle of
the night to avoid DOMA's becoming a controversy at his own convention.
DOMA looked ahead to anticipate exactly the situation confronting us in
2008. It provides that if a State of the Union legalizes homosexual
marriage no other State is required to recognize that action. Just this
year the California Supreme Court legalized homosexual marriage, by a
4-3 vote. A measure to amend the California State Constitution
overturning that decision qualified for the ballot this November. If the
proposed amendment did not pass and subsequently DOMA were repealed all
States would be required to recognize same-sex marriages as currently
all States recognize traditional marriages valid in other States.
While Representative Baldwin is correct that the new Congress surely
will pass the repeal of DOMA, it is not certain what would happen if the
bill were upon the President's desk. Senator Barak H. Obama (D-IL)
supports repeal. Senator John S. McCain, III (R-AZ) voted for DOMA when
it passed the Congress. Thus far he has not indicated what he would do
if DOMA were repealed.
Baldwin and Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) were also on a panel sponsored
by the Center for American Progress. Smith agreed with Baldwin that
these two measures would pass the next Congress. He hinted but did not
outright confirm that Senator McCain would sign any such measure.