Kaine Signs Amicus Brief Challenging DOMA
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine signed an amicus brief filed in the U.S. Supreme Court today by 212 members of Congress challenging Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which created a federal definition of marriage for the first time. The brief concludes there is no legitimate federal interest in denying married same-sex couples the same legal security, rights and responsibilities that federal law provides to all other married couples, and that DOMA undermines the welfare of American families.
The case at hand, U.S. v. Edith Schlain Windsor, involves the federal government denying a same-sex couple protections from the estate tax that other married couples receive. When Edith “Edie” Windsor’s spouse passed away, her inheritance was significantly decreased because of section 3 of DOMA, and they were treated as strangers under the law despite having a relationship that had lasted more than 40 years.
In 2006, Kaine campaigned against an amendment to the Virginia constitution that banned any legal recognition of same-sex relationships. On his first day as Governor, he signed an executive order that banned discrimination against state employees based on race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, political affiliation, veteran status or disability.
“I’m proud to join 212 members of the House and Senate in filing this brief with the Supreme Court that details why we believe Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act should be ruled unconstitutional,” said Kaine. “I'm encouraged by the Supreme Court's decision to take up the Defense of Marriage Act and hope there's an end in sight to the continued discrimination against thousands of committed couples across the country.”
The full list of signatories follows:
Lead signatories:
Harry Reid
Richard J. Durbin
Charles E. Schumer
Patty Murray
Dianne Feinstein
Patrick J. Leahy
Nancy Pelosi
Steny H. Hoyer
James E. Clyburn
Jerrold Nadler
John Conyers, Jr.
Jared Polis
David N. Cicilline
Sean Patrick Maloney
Mark Pocan
Kyrsten Sinema
Mark Takano
Senators:
Tammy Baldwin
Michael F. Bennet
Richard Blumenthal
Barbara Boxer
Sherrod Brown
Maria Cantwell
Benjamin Cardin
Thomas R. Carper
Christopher Coons
William “Mo” Cowan
Al Franken
Kirsten Gillibrand
Tom Harkin
Martin Heinrich
Mazie K. Hirono
Tim Kaine
Angus S. King, Jr.
Amy Klobuchar
Frank R. Lautenberg
Claire McCaskill
Robert Menendez
Jeff Merkley
Barbara A. Mikulski
Christopher S. Murphy
Patty Murray
Bernie Sanders
Brian Schatz
Charles E. Schumer
Jeanne Shaheen
Debbie Stabenow
Jon Tester
Mark Udall
Mark R. Warner
Elizabeth Warren
Sheldon Whitehouse
Ron Wyden
Representatives:
Robert E. Andrews
Ron Barber
Karen Bass
Joyce Beatty
Xavier Becerra
Ami Bera
Timothy H. Bishop
Earl Blumenauer
Suzanne Bonamici
Robert A. Brady
Bruce L. Braley
Corinne Brown
Julia Brownley
Cheri Bustos
Lois Capps
Michael E. Capuano
Tony Cárdenas
John C. Carney, Jr.
André Carson
Matthew A. Cartwright
Kathy Castor
Joaquin Castro
Judy Chu
Yvette D. Clarke
Wm. Lacy Clay
Emanuel Cleaver
Steve Cohen
Gerald E. Connolly
Joe Courtney
Joseph Crowley
Elijah E. Cummings
Danny K. Davis
Susan A. Davis
Diana DeGette
John K. Delaney
Rosa L. DeLauro
Suzan K. DelBene
Theodore E. Deutch
John D. Dingell
Lloyd Doggett
Michael F. Doyle
Tammy Duckworth
Donna F. Edwards
Keith Ellison
Eliot L. Engel
Anna G. Eshoo
Elizabeth H. Esty
Sam Farr
Chaka Fattah
Bill Foster
Lois Frankel
Marcia L. Fudge
Tulsi Gabbard
John Garamendi
Joe Garcia
Alan Grayson
Al Green
Raúl M. Grijalva
Luis V. Gutierrez
Janice Hahn
Colleen W. Hanabusa
Alcee L. Hastings
Denny Heck
Brian Higgins
James A. Himes
Rush Holt
Michael M. Honda
Steven A. Horsford
Jared Huffman
Steve Israel
Sheila Jackson Lee
Hakeem S. Jeffries
Eddie Bernice Johnson
Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr.
Marcy Kaptur
William R. Keating
Joseph P. Kennedy III
Daniel T. Kildee
Derek Kilmer
Ann Kirkpatrick
Ann M. Kuster
James R. Langevin
John B. Larson
Barbara Lee
Sander M. Levin
John Lewis
David Loebsack
Zoe Lofgren
Alan S. Lowenthal
Nita M. Lowey
Michelle Lujan Grisham
Daniel B. Maffei
Carolyn B. Maloney
Edward J. Markey
Doris O. Matsui
Carolyn McCarthy
Betty McCollum
Jim McDermott
James P. McGovern
Jerry McNerney
Gregory W. Meeks
Grace Meng
Michael H. Michaud
George Miller
Gwen Moore
James P. Moran
Patrick Murphy
Grace F. Napolitano
Richard E. Neal
Gloria Negrete McLeod
Richard M. Nolan
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Beto O’Rourke
William L. Owens
Frank Pallone, Jr.
Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Ed Pastor
Donald M. Payne, Jr.
Ed Perlmutter
Gary C. Peters
Scott H. Peters
Chellie Pingree
David E. Price
Mike Quigley
Charles B. Rangel
Lucille Roybal-Allard
Raul Ruiz
C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger
Bobby L. Rush
Tim Ryan
Linda T. Sánchez
Loretta Sanchez
John P. Sarbanes
Janice D. Schakowsky
Adam B. Schiff
Bradley S. Schneider
Allyson Y. Schwartz
Robert C. “Bobby” Scott
José E. Serrano
Carol Shea-Porter
Brad Sherman
Albio Sires
Louise McIntosh Slaughter
Adam Smith
Jackie Speier
Eric Swalwell
Mike Thompson
John F. Tierney
Dina Titus
Paul Tonko
Niki Tsongas
Chris Van Hollen
Juan Vargas
Marc A. Veasey
Nydia M. Velázquez
Timothy J. Walz
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Maxine Waters
Henry A. Waxman
Peter Welch
John A. Yarmuth
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