Student journalists put Bill Clinton on the defensive over DOMA

[PageOneQ]

In a recent interview with the mtvU Editorial Board, former President Bill Clinton frames the Defense of Marriage Act, which he enacted in 1996, as a state's rights measure rather than an anti-gay initiative, aiming to give states the option not to recognize another state's legal same-sex marriage. In the political climate of 1996, Clinton says, it seemed like a reasonable alternative to an outright ban through constitutional amendment.

http://pageoneq.com/news/2008/clinton_032508.html

[GodlessBiker]

1. Bill Clinton: Champion of states' rights.

:rofl:

[GoneOffShore]

2. One of the reasons that I lost respect for Clinton.

He should have vetoed DOMA.

[DURHAM D]

5. Why? It would have passed without his signature.

And the Repubs would have rolled out a giant national movement for a Constitutional amendment. Wouldn't that have been swell - the House and Senate Repub numbers would have grown to the point that all the remaining Dems could meet in a storage closet.

[TechBear_Seattle]

11. Had he vetoed, he would not have been complicit with bigotry

Keep in mind, though, that he did not merely sign DOMA, he signed it late on a Friday night, in private, and then sent Gore around the country making excuses about how DOMA was a Good Thing.

Start to finish, he willfully endorsed federal discrimination.

[LostinVA]

3. Clinton was right

[DURHAM D]

4. I watched it yesterday.

The interviewers were unable to comprehend a complex question/answer or put it in historical/political context. I was around back then. Signing the damn bill was the only rational option at the time.


As for Melissa. I know Melissa. I have spent time with Melissa. I like Melissa but she ain't all that smart politically. She is in show biz.

[GodlessBiker]

6. Signing the bill wasn't the "only rational option." He could have refused to ...

sign it and maintain his integrity (unless, of course, he really agreed with what the bill said).

[JackBeck]

7. Number of states banning same-sex marriage prior to DOMA: Zero.

Number of states banning same-sex marriage since Clinton signed DOMA: 26.

[Creideiki]

8. Number of US Constitutional Amendments: 0

Then again, Illinois has a DoMA that Obama successfully repealed.

Oh, wait. He didn't.

Chances of Obama championing gay rights during his term ~0%.

[JackBeck]

9. If you want to play that game

Number of same-sex marriages in New York State: Zero.

And for those with short memories, DOMA didn't prevent a Constitutional amendment, Congress voting down the measure prevented the passage.

[GodlessBiker]

12. Courts in NY have already ruled that foreign gay marriages must be recognized in NY.

NY gay couples are getting married in Canada and coming back and finding their marriages recognized.

[JackBeck]

13. New York State currently does not recognize same-sex marriages.

In February, though, a five-judge panel of the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department ruled unanimously in Martinez v. County of Monroe that because New York legally recognizes out-of-state marriages of opposite-sex couples, it must do the same for same-sex couples.

This ruling does not automatically legalize gay marriage.

[GodlessBiker]

15. NY recognizes foreign gay marriages, the court you referred to establishes that.

I don't know what you mean by "automatically," and perhaps the states highest court will rule differently (although I don't think so, as NY recognizes the foreign marriage of first cousins, for example, even though first cousins cannot get married in NY), but until then NY recognizes foreign gay marriages.

[JackBeck]

16. Got it. My bad.

I'm on vacation and it looks as if my brain is also on one.

[GodlessBiker]

17. That's OK. It is really a great development in NY.

[Creideiki]

14. I'm sorry. When was Hillary directly involved with the New York state government?

Was she a state senator?

Now, calling her a "carpet-bagger" is a reasonable criticism, but it's hard to pin the failings of the state of New York on Hillary.

Good grief, all this, and I don't think I've ever said anything about having more than tepid support of Hillary. I'd vote for Hillary over Barack not because I particularly think she's wonderful. She's just less craptastic than Barack.

[JackBeck]

18. The argument could be made

that since she's New York's representative in Congress, she's intimately involved in securing Federal money to support organizations in New York state that are fighting for same-sex marriage.

At the end of the day, though, we all know where both candidates stand on this issue, and neither support same-sex marriage.

[Creideiki]

19. And New York is on the cusp of recognizing marriages performed in state

It's not like Illinois that's not making any progress at all.

[kdpeters]

10. Bill Clinton: DOMA protects Utah gay couples from harrassment

What a crock of crap. Memo to Bill, we don't need "help" like that.

Here's another link that includes Melissa Etheridge's comment about GLBT's being thrown under the bus by Bill Clinton.

http://visiblevote08.logoonline.com/2008/03/24/mtvu-calls-out-bill-clinton-on-doma/

They're both very patronizing and defensive toward the gay community and seem offended by our nerve to be so ungrateful. No thanks.

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