US lawmakers introduce bill to repeal Defense of Marriage Act News
US lawmakers introduce bill to repeal Defense of Marriage Act

[JURIST] Ninety members of the US House of Representatives [official website] introduced [press release] a bill [HR 3567 text] Tuesday to repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) [text; JURIST news archive]. Signed by former president Bill Clinton [official profile], DOMA refuses federal marriage benefits to same-sex couples [JURIST news archive], including social security, tax laws, and immigration rights, and defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Clinton has stated his support [press release] for the the new bill, the goals of which President Barack Obama [official website] supported during his candidacy. Called the Respect for Marriage Act and introduced by Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) [official site], the new bill would permit states to define marriage individually:

For the purposes of any Federal law in which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered married if that individual's marriage is valid in the State where the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any State, if the marriage is valid in the place where entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a State.

No date has been set for voting on the bill, and it is unlikely to be a priority [NYT report] for the current session of Congress.

Last month, a federal judge in California dismissed a challenge [JURIST report] to DOMA on jurisdictional grounds. In July, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley [official profile] filed a suit challenging [JURIST report] DOMA on the grounds that it interferes with the state's right to define and regulate marriage. In March, a group of Massachusetts plaintiffs who are or have been married under the state's same-sex marriage law filed a similar lawsuit [JURIST report] challenging DOMA. Also in July, a Washington, DC law took effect [JURIST report] that recognizes same-sex marriages performed in other states or jurisdictions. Currently, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Iowa, Connecticut, and Massachusetts [JURIST reports] all allow same-sex marriage.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Egypt President Anwar Sadat visits Israel

On November 19, 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat visited Israel, becoming the first leader of an Arab nation to officially visit. Two years later, President Sadat became the first Arab leader to recognize Israel by signing the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty. Read President Sadat's address to the Israeli Knesset.

Jay Treaty signed

On November 19, 1794, US Chief Justice John Jay and British foreign secretary Lord Grenville signed a treaty in Philadelphia under which British forces pulled out of the disputed Northwest Territory. Review the Jay Treaty.