Voting: Signatures opposed to same-sex couples’ rights turns up short of goal, but still might get to ballot
BRAD SHANNON; The Olympian | • Published July 31, 2009

Social conservatives who organized the Referendum 71 challenge to domestic-partnership rights for same-sex couples turned in fewer signatures than initially thought.

David Ammons of the Office of the Secretary of State said the actual number is 137,689, about 800 fewer than the 138,500 estimated at Saturday’s turn-in of signatures by the Protect Marriage Washington campaign, which is led by Christian faith groups.

The signature total is 14 percent more than the 120,577 valid signatures needed for the issue to qualify for the Nov. 3 ballot. That is below the typical 18 percent invalidation rate, raising questions about the measure’s viability.

Signature checking begins today and could take several days.

Larry Stickney, leader of the Washington Values Coalition and the Protect Marriage Washington campaign, said Saturday during the turn-in of signatures that he was hopeful of a lower invalidation rate.

Stickney said he was involved in another church-backed initiative in the late 1990s that had a much lower than average number of invalid signatures.

Some supporters of the domestic-partnership law have said they want to post the names and addresses of petition signers online. Opponents say that would violate the voters’ First Amendment rights.

Brad Shannon: 360-753-1688

bsha...@theolympian.com

www.theolympian.com/politicsblog

Refugee tells stunned audience that soldiers detained, executed gay civilians

By CHRIS JOHNSON and LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Jul. 31, 2009

A fundraising event to benefit an LGBT community center in Lebanon last week took a surprise turn when stunned audience members were shown graphic photographs of beheaded corpses and images purportedly depicting U.S. soldiers preparing to execute gay Iraqis.

Two gay Iraqi refugees, who declined to use their real names, delivered a presentation at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters July 24 in which they detailed alleged abuses of fellow gay Iraqis while calling on their audience to donate funds to Helem, a Lebanon-based center that works to address the plight of LGBT people in the Middle East.

One of the Iraqis, who goes by the name “Hussam,” showed the audience of about 80 people gruesome images, including shots allegedly of a beheaded man who was gay and another of the victim’s twin brother grieving over the severed head.

While asserting that anti-gay violence in Iraq is often committed by Iraqis, Hussam also said U.S. service members were involved in anti-gay hostility. For example, he said service members displayed signs in front of their barracks with the words “Fuck Off Fags.”

But the reaction from the audience turned from anger to shock when Hussam said U.S. service members had detained Iraqi civilians perceived to be gay and executed them.

He then showed an image of what appeared to be an American soldier standing in front of a small group of four or five kneeling naked men who were chained together. Hussam claimed the men were gay Iraqis and that he possessed images of their execution, which he did not show the audience.

Dana Beyer, a transgender activist and Chevy Chase, Md., resident who attended the event, said she was “appalled” by the images of the atrocities, but especially by the allegation that U.S. service members were murdering gay Iraqis.

“When it comes down to our armed services … who potentially have contributed to atrocities like that, I’m just appalled,” she said. “And I hope that we will pursue this through the government, through the State Department and through the Department of Defense because this just can’t be left standing.”

Chris Farris, a gay D.C. resident who also attended the event, said he thought the photo was “disturbing and upsetting,” but voiced skepticism about the veracity of Hussam’s claim.

“It’s very difficult for me to believe that my country would allow its military to engage in the conduct that has been apparently documented,” Farris said. “I would urge the U.S. government to react.”

When confronted by a Blade reporter after the presentation, Hussam said he feared public disclosure of the photos would incite further violence in Iraq and refused to turn over copies of the images.

If U.S. service members executed the Iraqis as alleged, it would constitute a violation of international law under the Geneva Convention or the Uniform Code of Military Justice, depending on the circumstances.

Defense officials couldn’t immediately confirm whether allegations made at the presentation regarding U.S. service members were legitimate.

Air Force Lt. Col. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, said he isn’t aware of any cases that match the allegations made by Hussam and deferred to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command for further comment.

Army CID spokesperson Jeffrey Castro also said he wasn’t aware of cases of U.S. service members executing Iraqis perceived to be gay, but said he’d investigate the matter.

Christopher Nugent, a D.C. attorney who specializes in U.S. political asylum cases, including cases involving gay Iraqis applying for U.S. asylum, said he, too, was unaware of reports of anti-gay actions by U.S. military forces in Iraq.

Nugent said he is frequently in touch with non-profit organizations and legal groups that provide pro-bono legal services to Iraqi refugees, including gay refugees.

“The anti-gay persecution is greatest among Sunni and Shia militias,” Nugent said, citing reports from non-profit groups operating in Iraq. No reports have come in indicating U.S. troops are responsible for anti-gay killings, he said.

Numerous sources have reported that Iraqis have allegedly committed human rights abuses against LGBT people in the country.

In April, the New York Times reported that a democratic Iraq coupled with an increase in security allowed an LGBT subculture to emerge, but the response to the new visibility has been “swift and deadly” and multiple victims of violence had been found, mostly men and boys suspected of being gay.

In a congressional fact-finding trip to Iraq at around the same time, gay Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) started calling for greater U.S. action in addressing these issues after he learned Iraqi government officials were allegedly involved in human rights abuses against LGBT people.

Sponsors ‘shocked’ by report

The July 24 event was co-sponsored by HRC, Human Rights Watch, and the National LGBT Bar Association, according to a posting on HRC’s blog. HRC also listed the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission as a co-sponsor, but Sarah Tobias, an IGLHRC spokesperson, said her organization wasn’t involved.

Brad Luna, spokesperson for HRC, attended the event and said his organization was “shocked and disturbed” by the report of U.S. military involvement in the persecution of gays in Iraq.

“We’ve been working since then to verify and corroborate the claim, but have not thus far been able to do so,” Luna said. “We take this sort of allegation very seriously and will continue to monitor the situation.”

Scott Long, director of the LGBT Rights Program for Human Rights Watch, an international watchdog group, said he had just returned from a fact-finding trip to the Middle East on behalf of his group’s LGBT rights monitoring efforts.

“I have seen no indication in our research of any involvement of U.S. military personnel in targeted killings of gay Iraqis,” he said. “I have seen no evidence of these allegations.”

Long said he was in Lebanon two weeks ago and met with gay refugees from Iraq.

“I can certainly vouch for the work that is being done for Iraqi refugees in Lebanon,” he said.

D’Arcy Kemnitz, executive director of the National LGBT Bar Association, attended the event and said she didn’t know about Hussam’s photos before he showed them. She also said that she didn’t hear Hussam’s allegation that the U.S. military was involved in atrocities and has no copies of the photos he showed.

Still, she vouched for Hussam’s credibility.

“Based upon everything that I know, having worked with him in this kind of volunteer capacity, his credibility is beyond reproach,” she said. “He’s worked with international human rights groups since the time I’ve known him and before that.”

She said she couldn’t speak to whether the allegations warrant an investigation because, without having heard the remarks herself, she would be basing a decision on “hearsay upon hearsay upon hearsay.”

Kemnitz emphasized that the “whole purpose” of the event last week was to “focus on providing some sort of support for the very few individuals who have been able to get out of Iraq.”

“Individuals getting out of Iraq are incredibly vulnerable and they face extreme hardship as they’re trying to get their refugee [status] processed, so that’s why everybody came together in a volunteer capacity to help those guys out,” she said.

She said she’d “just be absolutely heartbroken” if there were any negative consequences for the gay Iraqis seeking asylum.

Eric Wingerter, a public relations consultant working with the National LGBT Bar Association, said he initiated fundraising events in D.C. last weekend on behalf of gay Iraqi refugees. Wingerter said he learned about the plight of gay Iraqis through the association’s efforts to provide them with free legal assistance.

He said the National LGBT Bar Association is part of a network of legal groups helping gay Iraqis and others through the complex process of applying for U.S. political asylum.

Wingerter said weekend events raised about $8,000, which he would turn over to the Fund For Global Human Rights, a D.C. foundation that has worked in the past with Helem, which is to be the recipient of the funds. The event at HRC brought in about $6,000, he said, with another $1,000 raised at a subsequent event at Nellie’s bar on Sunday. Wingerter said he expected a further direct contribution from Nellie’s based on bar receipts.

According to Wingerter, Helem is playing a key role in helping LGBT Iraqis resettle in Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries after they flee Iraq due to anti-gay persecution.

Wingerter said the Fund For Global Human Rights, which helps non-profit groups providing refugee relief services, has a relationship with Helem and will deliver the funds raised in D.C. directly to Helem’s headquarters in Beirut.

‘There is no law and order’

Hussam discussed his personal experiences as a gay man living in Iraq with the Blade before the start of the Nellie’s fundraiser Sunday.

“I was involved with the LGBT community in Iraq before and after the war,” he said, in referring to the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

He said gays were far better off under Saddam’s regime, even though, like all other groups, they had to obey the rules and restrictions of his dictatorial, one-party government.

“We had men’s clubs and men’s parties, which were gay events,” he said. “The government gave us a blind eye. They knew we existed.”

As a secular government that repressed Islamic forces opposed to his rule, Saddam cracked down on violence against various groups, including gays, Hussam said.

Saddam left most of the various religious and ethnic factions, including gays, alone in the country “as long as you stayed out of his way politically,” Hussam said.

But after the U.S. invasion ended Saddam’s rule, the U.S. and allied forces failed to establish a workable replacement, leading to a breakdown of the governmental institutions needed to protect the safety of citizens.

He said the power vacuum was quickly filled by warring ethnic and religious factions, many of which began persecuting gays.

“There is no law and order,” he said, even under the current Iraqi government that is quickly taking over full control of the country from the U.S. military.

Asked which groups are most responsible for anti-gay persecution and killings, Hussam said, “You can’t easily point a finger. We have militias, religious groups, criminal groups, hate groups,” he said. Members of each of these groups have targeted gay Iraqis, according to Hussam.

“All minorities in Iraq are targeted,” he said. “But some have stood up and denounced it when the Kurds were killed, when the Christians were killed. No one stands up for the gays when they are killed.”

“I lost eight of my gay friends” to anti-gay killings, he said. There are now “hundreds of gays” whose identities are known to anti-gay forces and who are in serious danger, he said. “Every day that passes, someone is lost.”

He said gays in the U.S. can help by putting pressure on the U.S. government and on the United Nations to, in turn, put pressure on the government of Iraq to put a stop to the violence against gays and other minorities.

© 2009 The Washington Blade | A Window Media Publication

The secretary of state’s office said Thursday it had completed a raw count of the voter signatures that were submitted by sponsors of Referendum 71, the effort to give people in Washington the option of overturning the “everything but marriage” same-sex domestic partner law.

The number was 137,689 – 14 percent more than the minimum needed to be placed on the November ballot. Checkers will begin verifying signatures on Friday, a process that could take several weeks. The average historic average error rate is 18 percent; whether Referendum 71 will qualify is unclear.

On Wednesday a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting the release of the names of people who signed the petitions. U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle has set a full hearing on the matter for Sept. 3.

The names of everyone who signed Referendum-71 petitions are publicly available under open-government laws. A gay-rights group says it wants to post all the names online. But the R-71 campaign says that could lead to harassment.

Posted by Chris Grygiel at July 30, 2009 12:24 p.m.

By kery murakami
PostGlobe

Robert Harkins at a recent education rally on the Capitol steps in Olympia. (Courtesy of Robert Harkins)
Robert Harkins, who was the face of the gay rights organization Hands Off Washington in the 1990s, knows that gay-bashing occurs.

He wasn’t expecting it Friday night, though. Not as he walked with a friend Friday night. Not on Capitol Hill – the traditional center of gay life in Seattle.

But at about 11 p.m., Harkins, who is now the state’s deputy superintendent in the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, said he watched his friend get shoved to the ground on Pike Street and three men kick his friend in the face while yelling anti-gay and anti-Hispanic slurs.

The friend has two black eyes, Harkins said Tuesday.

The man, who didn’t want his name used, was still near tears when talking about it Monday.

Harkins’ friend said he’s not surprised to hear anti-gay remarks walking in Belltown. But on Capitol Hill, he said, “you’re supposed to feel safe.”

Harkins, who is in his mid-50s, said he and the friend, who is in his mid-20s, were walking on Pike Street, near Broadway, at about 11 p.m. when they passed a few people smoking outside a bar.

A woman in the group made a remark about a “pretty boy walking with his daddy,” Harkins said.

The friend stopped and said he wasn’t going to take that. He demanded an apology. A man who was with the woman stepped in.

Harkins’ friend still demanded an apology.

The other man shoved him to the ground, Harkins said.

Immediately, three other men began kicking Harkins’ friend.

The friend said he didn’t know if the same man who had shoved him kicked him. He just remembers going down and then feeling the kicks.

Harkins said others passed by on a busy Friday night. Only one woman stopped to help. She and Harkins stepped in stopped the attack.

He and the friend are just friends, Harkins said. Indeed, Harkins said Friday was the anniversary of the death of his fiancé.

“This weekend was supposed to be about my friends gathering around me,” he said – not of watching brutality.

Two years ago, I wrote a story for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about a spate of anti-gay attacks on Capitol Hill. Gays said the neighborhood was changing. It wasn’t just the move of the annual gay pride parade to downtown. More people from out of the area were coming to the neighborhood – perhaps not knowing of Capitol Hill’s significance in the gay community.

Harkins was sore Monday from pulling a muscle in his chest from breaking up the fight. He emphasized he wasn’t the one physically attacked.

But emotionally, he was still shaken, Harkins said.

That the attack happened on Capitol Hill was upsetting, Harkins said.

Harkins is a veteran of the gay rights movement, having served as the spokesman for Hands Off Washington, which fought statewide initiatives in the mid-1990s that would have prohibited state and local governments from protecting gays and lesbians under anti-discrimination laws, prohibited schools from portraying homosexuality in a positive light and banned gays from adopting children or getting custody of children in a divorce.

The three men, he said, “were just looking for a reason to whale on someone who was gay.

“You’d like to think we’ve come farther than this,” Harkins said.

Murakami was formerly the neighborhoods and City Hall reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

PLEDGE TO RETAIN WASHINGTON STATE’S
DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP LAW
VOTE TO APPROVE REFERENDUM 71

Ask your friends, family and co-workers to help us keep
Washington’s Domestic Partnership Law intact.

A coalition of organizations including

American Civil Liberties Union, American Federation of Teachers, American Friends Service Committee, American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Art With Heart, Asian Pacific Islander Coalition of WA State, Asian Pacific Islander Women and Family Safety Center, Associated Ministries of Pierce County, Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship Social Justice Coaltion, Blue Mountain Heart to Heart, Cedar River Clinics, Central Washington Progress, Children’s Alliance, Compassion and Choices, Congregation Kol Ami, CREDO Mobile, Economic Opportunities Institute, El Centro de la Raza, Entre Hermanos, Equal Rights Washington, First United Methodist Church of Tacoma, Fuse, Green River Community College GSA, Greater Seattle Business Association, Human Rights Campaign, Ingersoll Gender Center, Inland Northwest LGBT Center, Inland Oasis, Inlaws & Outlaws, Japanese American Citizens League, Jewish Family Service, Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, Join the Impact, King County Coaltion Against Domestic Violence, Kitsap County HIV AIDS Foundation, Lake Washington Educational Association, Lambda Legal, Latino Political Action Committee, Legal Voice, Lifelong Aids Alliance, Lutheran Public Policy Network of WA State, Micah Project, Minority Executive Directors Coalition, Morningside Academy, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, New Americans Action Fund, One America, Organization of Chinese Americans of Greater Seattle, Out In Tacoma, Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, People for Peace, Justice, and Healing, Parents and Friends of Lesbian and Gays (Chapters throughout the state), Pierce County AIDS Foundation, Pinay Sa Seattle, Planned Parenthood Votes! Washington, Pride at Work, Pride Foundation, Puget Sound Chapter Old Lesbians Organizing for Change, Q Law, Queer Kidz, Raising Our Asian Pacific American Representation, Religious Coalition for Equality, Safe Schools Coalition, Sahngnoksoo, Seattle Gay News, Seattle-King County Advisory Council for Aging & Disability Services, Seattle Metropolitan Election Committee (SEAMEC), Seattle Out and Proud, Seattle Pride, Seattle University Outlaws, SEIU Local 775, Snohomish County Democrats, Tacoma Lesbian Concern, Tacoma Rainbow Center, Tacoma United for Fairness, Teamsters Local 117, UFCW Local 21, Unite Here Local 8, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, Vancouver Firefighters Union IAFF Local 452, Vancouver First Congregational United Church of Christ, Vista Youth Center, WA State Council of Firefighters, Washington Education Association, Washington Gender Alliance, Washington State Stonewall Democrats, Washington State Council of Fire Fighters, Washington State Psychological Association, Whatcom Human Rights Task Force, Women’s Funding Alliance, YWCA Clark County all say:

PLEASE KEEP ALL WASHINGTON FAMILIES STRONG.
VOTE TO APPROVE REFERENDUM 71

Full Petition Text:
I pledge to work to retain our state’s domestic partnership law. I believe that the domestic partnership expansion bill of 2009 should be retained because it provides important protections to Washington families. I pledge to talk to my friends family and neighbors about the importance of voting to approve referendum 71.

Signed by:
[Your name]
[Your address]

http://eqfed.org/campaign/Approve_Ref_71?rk=l1eSvL6a0ur8E

Jeremy was refused entry to his high school prom when he arrived in a gown and makeup instead of a tuxedo.

KUAM, Guam’s news network, reports that officials at George Washington High School in Guam refunded the money Jeremy spent for a prom ticket, but are unsympathetic about the $400 he spent on clothing and other items, and will not issue him the apology that he wants for being unable to attend the prom.

Jeremy claims that he was discriminated against when he was denied entry.

“I said, ‘Where does it state in this rule in this paper that there’s no cross-dressing, no individualism and no opposite genders? It doesn’t say anything.’ So I have a case right here. And that’s wrong,” he said, as quoted by KUAM.

In an earlier report, Jeremy claims that girls were being allowed into the prom in tuxes, and that he was told that those girls were wearing “female tuxes.”

George Washington High School has no policy regarding transgender students (Jeremy has also identified himself as gay), and the principal, Begona Flores, says that she will follow such a policy if it is drafted, but has no intention of initiating a policy because it goes against her beliefs.

Jeremy has apparently dressed in male clothing and expressed his gender as male in school, so school personnel were not unreasonably surprised when he arrived at the prom in a gown.

However, the fact that no policy was in place suggests that Jeremy should have been allowed to attend, and a reasonable policy would accommodate trans students as well as lesbian, gay, and bisexual students.

Dress codes can be a major problem for trans students and for adult trans people in the workplace. While, ideally, a dress code for school or work should not be gender specific, we have not yet reached that place as a society.

But young people are transgressing those gender norms that society has established, and by pushing that envelope, they will eventually cause those necessary changes to be made.

In the meantime, many LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) youth organizations have established their own proms, to allow LGBT youth to bring the date of their choice, to wear the clothing of their choice, and to experience a prom that they can enjoy on their own terms, rather than one that has been established around heterosexual partnerships and specific gender norms.

These types of events for youth are important in the development of positive self-esteem and self-worth, internal characteristics that all youth should be equally entitled to possess.

Author: Matt Kailey
Matt Kailey is a National Examiner.

By Chris Jai Centeno

As many as three explosive devices reportedly detonated in two track stadiums of the Outgames in Copenhagen, leaving one person with minor injuries.

Before the men’s 4×200-meter track relay in the afternoon, two bombs were thrown onto the track and exploded instantly, according to a witness writing in an e-mail obtained by Advocate.com. An Outgames athlete was taken to a local hospital with injuries to his right hand from flying shrapnel. He has since been released.

Participants on the field were unharmed but shaken by the incident.

Less than an hour later, a second bomb was thrown in another stadium. Luckily, no one was injured, but track events were delayed for 90 minutes.

Police now have a 31-year-old male suspect in custody.

This is the second violent incident in less than a week for the Outgames.

Three men — from England, Sweden, and Norway — had been attacked in the Danish capital following opening-night ceremonies over the preceding weekend. All three victims were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries and were later released. In that incident police arrested two men whom witnesses reported shouted antigay phrases before beating the men. Both suspects, who were believed to have been inebriated at the time, held criminal records and were expected to remain in custody for the remainder of the event.

The Federation of Gay Games is standing in solidarity with Outgames organizers in condemning these violent attacks. “Copenhagen has a reputation as one of the most LGBT-friendly places on earth. Even there, we are reminded that our community still faces those who would deny us our basic human rights, even the freedom to run in a track meet in safety,” Gay Games organizers said in a release. “But we will not be discouraged; rather, we will run, swim, jump, throw, grapple, volley, and perform at events like the Gay Games and Outgames, celebrating our right to love who we want.”

By The Associated Press

(Tirana, Albania) Albania’s governing Democrats have proposed a law allowing same-sex civil weddings in the small, predominantly Muslim country.

An announcement on the government Web site Thursday said the bill “may spark debate” but was needed to stop discrimination against gay couples. Current law only recognizes heterosexual marriages.

Prime Minister Sali Berisha said the move followed requests from rights groups. His Democrats, who control 74 of parliament’s 140 seats, are expected to easily pass the law.

The former Communist Balkan state, which joined NATO in April, has applied to be considered for joining the European Union.

Albania is mostly Muslim with large Orthodox Christian and Roman Catholic minorities. Practicing religion was banned during the 1944-1990 Communist regime.

What next for Referendum 71?
-Joe Mirabella, The Mighty Pen
Approve Referendum 71

The Secretary of State’s office announced on Tuesday through their blog that they will conduct a complete verification of the entire petition rather than a 3 % sampling. While I think it is fantastic that every single signature will be scrutinized, it could be several weeks before we know the results.

It does not hurt to start thinking about the future. What if Referendum 71 does qualify for the ballot? What next? We need to switch our thinking from decline to sign to Approve Referendum 71, Preserve the Domestic Partnership Law. That’s right, Approve. This is how the referendum will look if it makes the ballot in November:

REFERENDUM 71

Ballot Title
Statement of Subject: The legislature passed Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5688 concerning rights and responsibilities of state-registered domestic partners [and voters have filed a sufficient referendum petition on this bill].

Concise Description: This bill would expand the rights, responsibilities, and obligations accorded state-registered same-sex and senior domestic partners to be equivalent to those of married spouses, except that a domestic partnership is not a marriage.

Should this bill be:

Approved ___
Rejected ___

Unfortunately misinformation is already creeping into the media, blogs, social networks, and voters’ minds. As an exercise in prudence and for the protection of our families and friends, let’s start talking about referendum 71 as if it was going to qualify for the ballot. Please start the conversation now because if we wait, it could be too late. In a post prop 8 world, supporters of equality are very used to saying “no”. I certainly understand the impulse to say no to the discrimination Larry Stickney and Gary Randall embody, but be clear when you are thinking about Referendum 71. It is not prop 8. It is different. Read it carefully and do not be tricked, because if we have learned anything by the petition gathering period we know that Randall and Stickney are more than willing to lie to get their way. If nothing else remember, approve equality, approve our rights, approve our families, approve our future, approve of the legislatures decision to give us equal rights, approve of the law the legislature passed in 2009, approve domestic partnerships, approve referendum 71.

One more time, say it with me now and say it loud, “I approve referendum 71 to preserve domestic partnerships!“ Great job! Now go say it to at least 10 people you know.

Bay Area Reporter
Tuesday Jul 28, 2009

The effort to repeal the federal ban against same-sex marriages will not include extending rights to LGBT couples in domestic partnerships or civil unions, the Bay Area Reporter has learned. But it will include a “certainty provision” requiring states to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-New York), in an exclusive interview with the B.A.R. while attending the annual Human Rights Campaign gala in San Francisco Saturday, July 25, ruled out including anything other than legally recognized marriages in the legislation he plans to introduce either this week or once Congress returns from its August recess.

“No, it will not include domestic partnerships or civil unions. It is going to be just marriage,” said Nadler, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and therefore, will be the lead sponsor of legislation aimed at repealing the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Under DOMA’s Section 3 the federal government is forbidden from recognizing LGBT couples married in the six states where same-sex marriage is legal. Section 2 of the law says those states that outlaw same-sex marriages do not have to recognize legal same-sex marriages from other states. Nadler said his bill would repeal both sections of DOMA.

“We have got to repeal DOMA and have got to make sure it accomplishes for federal purposes allowing the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages,” said Nadler, who led the fight to defeat a Federal Marriage Amendment that would have enshrined the same-sex marriage ban in the U.S. Constitution. “The time for dumping DOMA is long overdue.”

HRC President Joe Solmonese said it makes sense to restrict the debate over repealing DOMA only to recognition of same-sex marriage.

“We ought to start it with what we would ultimately achieve, a wholesale overturning of DOMA,” he said.

Nadler said that including domestic partnerships or civil unions in his legislation “gets very complicated” because the laws governing such legally recognized relationships are “different in every state.” Also, he said it would cloud the legislation’s end goal, which is ensuring all Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation, have the right to marry.

“Historically domestic partnerships and other relationships have been an interregnum until we get to marriage, which we need to push for as soon as possible,” said Nadler, adding that he could not predict what chances the legislation has of passage. “We have to see what reaction we get. It won’t pass this year.”

In recent months the LGBT community had been debating amongst itself what form the DOMA repeal bill should take, and whether it should encompass all of the various legal relationships states have set up for same-sex couples. Some had feared adding anything more than marriages into the bill would hamper efforts on the West Coast to undo Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriages, or extend marriage rights to LGBT residents of Washington and Oregon.

Should Nadler’s bill pass it would mean that only those 18,000 couples that married last year in California, before Prop 8 went into effect, would gain federal marriage rights since the state’s Supreme Court ruled this spring those marriages are valid. But the court did not address the legal status of those marriages performed in other states or countries.

The lack of a ruling on the issue has lead to confusion as to whether or not the state must recognize them. Openly gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) is pushing a bill that would require state officials to recognize those out-of-state marriages performed prior to Prop 8’s enactment on November 5, 2008. The bill would also extend all the rights and benefits of marriage to those couples that wed out-of-state post Prop 8’s becoming law but would not classify them as marriages.

During his prepared remarks, Nadler said he would include the “certainty provision” in his bill in order to give same-sex couples and their families peace of mind that should they move to a state that does not allow same-sex couples to wed their marriage would still be valid.

“No family should have to fear that risk and uncertainty, and my bill will ensure they do not,” said Nadler.