Dallas Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson was among four Democrats from Texas who signed the brief opposing DOMA. Five House Democrats from Texas declined to sign the brief.
With friends like these, who need enemies?
The Texas Democratic Party may have recently added marriage equality to its platform, but obviously that doesn’t mean all or even most Democratic elected officials in the Lone Star State support the plank — or have the guts to stand up for it.
In fact, a majority of U.S. House Democrats from Texas have declined to sign a court brief opposing the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act.
Five of the nine House Democrats from Texas — the most from any state — are among 60 from across the country who declined to sign the friend-of-the-court brief filed Tuesday before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. (BuzzFeed has a list of all 60 representatives who declined to sign the brief.)
The Washington Blade reports that 132 House Democrats signed the brief, which urges the federal appeals court to strike down as unconstitutional the the 1996 law prohibiting federal recognition of same-sex marriage. The brief was filed in Golinski v. Office of Personnel Management, in which federal employee Karen Golinski is seeking benefits for her partner.
Shelbi Day, a staff attorney for Lambda Legal, which represents Golinski, told the Blade that the brief filed by House Democrats “sends a powerful message” and “underscores just how problematic and unconstitutional DOMA is.”
“As the brief points out, DOMA is not the rational result of impartial lawmaking but rather was enacted in haste with no legitimate government purpose,” Day said. “We welcome this brief and applaud the members of Congress who have signed it.”
The four Democrats from Texas who signed the brief opposing DOMA are Reps. Lloyd Doggett, Charlie Gonzalez, Sheila Jackson Lee and Eddie Bernice Johnson.
The five U.S. House members from Texas who declined to sign the brief are Reps. Henry Cuellar, Al Green, Gene Green, Rubén Hinojosa and Silvestre Reyes. (To his credit Al Green is a co-sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA.)
In case you’re wondering, contact info for these five — and the rest of Texas’ congressional delegation — can be found here.
Read the full brief here.
This should obviously send a message to the voters. I, for one, am sick and tired of these folks coming to our benefits and riding in our parades and making promises to us to get elected, or re-elected, and then when it comes to putting their money where their mouths are, they seem to forget where some of that money (and support) comes/came from.
Sadly, most of our legislators and other elected officials have to choose between doing what is right for the good of all the people, versus doing what is necessary to get themselves re-elected by a small minority of the people. I did not attend the constitutional convention, but somehow I doubt that this was the original intent when our founding fathers adopted the principle of “Let the people choose.”
I disagree that Al Green should be given any credit for taking this action even if he supports the Respect for Marriage Act. It makes no sense to me. Why Al, please explain this!?
Call his office please and ask “Al Green why did you oppose DOMA and join the Republicans, Please explain!”
I have always thought Al Green was an empty suit in DC for Texas and the Democrats. This action may be proof.
Phone: (202) 225-7508
Thank you EBJ for always staring up for our community and for doing what is right!