CONGRESSMAN

JERROLD NADLER

8th Congressional
District of New York

Nadler Hails Federal Court Ruling Against the Defense
of Marriage Act

Renews Call for
Prompt Passage of the Respect for Marriage Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, July 8, 2010
CONTACT: Ilan Kayatsky, 212-367-7350

NEW YORK, NY – Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler
(D-NY), chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil
Rights and Civil Liberties, and sponsor of House legislation to fully repeal
the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), cheered today’s federal
circuit court decision striking down Section 3 of DOMA, which defines marriage
as a union between one man and one woman for the purposes of federal law. 
Nadler, the author of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal
DOMA, renewed his call for the immediate passage of his legislation.

Nadler issued the following statement:

“Today’s circuit court ruling is a historic
victory in the march toward marriage equality and a vindication of the core
principle of equal protection under the law.  The decision clearly affirms
this nation’s fundamental guarantee that no class of citizens will be
singled out for unequal treatment.  In the ruling, the court declared what
we always knew to be true – that the federal government has no rational
basis for refusing to treat the lawful marriages of same-sex couples the same
as all other marriages, and that prejudice against LGBT individuals and their
families is not a legitimate basis for any law.

“I have vehemently opposed DOMA since it was first
introduced because it is both unconstitutional and discriminatory, and I have
introduced legislation to fully repeal it.  The Respect for Marriage
Act, which currently has 112 cosponsors, would provide all legally married
LGBT Americans and their families the full measure of protections and
obligations of federal law.  This legislation is more relevant today than
ever, and I urge the Administration and the Congress to work actively to repeal
DOMA, in its entirety, and to abandon all efforts to defend that
unconstitutional and immoral law.”

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Jerrold Nadler has served in Congress since 1992. He
represents New York’s 8th Congressional District, which includes parts of
Manhattan and Brooklyn.