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If Obama won't defend DOMA you better believe John Boehner will and at taxpayer's expense!
House GOP Defends DOMA's Separation Of Binational Same-Sex Couples
WASHINGTON -- House Republicans will intervene in a lawsuit that would keep same-sex couples from being pulled apart -- even separated to different countries -- by immigration authorities under the Defense of Marriage Act, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner confirmed on Wednesday.
The House GOP took up the challenge of defending DOMA, which bans legal recognition of same-sex marriage at the federal level, in May 2011, after President Barack Obama announced in February 2011 that the Department of Justice would no longer defend it. Obama said at the time that he believed the law was unconstitutional. The president came out in support of legalizing same-sex marriage on Wednesday in an interview with ABC, after about a year and a half of "evolving" on the issue, but said it should be decided by states.
<<<snip>>>
ircher's office did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. A spokesman for Boehner (R-Ohio) confirmed that the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group -- which is controlled by Republicans, although two Democrats are also members -- would defend DOMA in this specific case.
"Per the recommendation of outside counsel, the House plans to intervene so that the courts -- not the President unilaterally -- can decide whether the statue is constitutional," Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck told HuffPost in an email.
The "Blesch case" referenced in Kircher's email to Immigration Equality is about the first plaintiff listed, 71-year-old U.S. citizen Edwin Blesch. Blesch is married to Tim Smulian, a 65-year-old resident of South Africa. Both men have health problems, and under current law Smulian was required to move away for a six-month period every year to re-obtain a visa to come back, at times keeping them apart when the other is ill. The couple received a reprieve in February so that Smulian will not have to leave, at least for a year.
<<<snip>>>
Defending DOMA has come at a high cost: the effort could cost as much as $1.5 million, at the expense of taxpayers, for a private law firm.
WASHINGTON -- House Republicans will intervene in a lawsuit that would keep same-sex couples from being pulled apart -- even separated to different countries -- by immigration authorities under the Defense of Marriage Act, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner confirmed on Wednesday.
The House GOP took up the challenge of defending DOMA, which bans legal recognition of same-sex marriage at the federal level, in May 2011, after President Barack Obama announced in February 2011 that the Department of Justice would no longer defend it. Obama said at the time that he believed the law was unconstitutional. The president came out in support of legalizing same-sex marriage on Wednesday in an interview with ABC, after about a year and a half of "evolving" on the issue, but said it should be decided by states.
<<<snip>>>
ircher's office did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. A spokesman for Boehner (R-Ohio) confirmed that the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group -- which is controlled by Republicans, although two Democrats are also members -- would defend DOMA in this specific case.
"Per the recommendation of outside counsel, the House plans to intervene so that the courts -- not the President unilaterally -- can decide whether the statue is constitutional," Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck told HuffPost in an email.
The "Blesch case" referenced in Kircher's email to Immigration Equality is about the first plaintiff listed, 71-year-old U.S. citizen Edwin Blesch. Blesch is married to Tim Smulian, a 65-year-old resident of South Africa. Both men have health problems, and under current law Smulian was required to move away for a six-month period every year to re-obtain a visa to come back, at times keeping them apart when the other is ill. The couple received a reprieve in February so that Smulian will not have to leave, at least for a year.
<<<snip>>>
Defending DOMA has come at a high cost: the effort could cost as much as $1.5 million, at the expense of taxpayers, for a private law firm.
Really?
I thought the GOP and Teabagger Party was all about less government interference AND wasting of Tax Dollars.
This is about an elderly couple in poor health - let them live their lives in peace and stop wasting our tax dollars on stuff like this.