It has been a long, slow 13 years since the Defense of Marriage Act was passed in 1996 under the Clinton administration. Fortunatly, there is some hope in sight for the millions of Americans being ostracized and left behind on the equal rights bandwagon. First off, we should probably discuss what this bill has been doing for over a decade…The bill, most notably eliminates the ‘Full Faith and Credit’ clause from the issue of gay marriages and even, to an extent, civil unions. The text of the bill’s major platform states:

“No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim arising from such relationship”

In 1996, this meant that even if any state proposed the idea of civil unions, it still wouldn’t have to be recognized because at that time, it was “treated as a marriage”. The bill further actively defines marriage and a spousal relationship as between a man and a woman, which is where, among other things, a major problem arises. For the last several years, this clause has denied the spousal partners of federal employees from receiving health and insurance benefits if they did not fall under the “man/wife” definition of marriage. [Read more...]