From the ABA to the NEA, Professional Organizations Support Marriage Equality

The American Bar Association (ABA) and the National Education Association (NEA) were racing to the punch to show which professional organization would take a bolder step for LGBT rights.  The victor?  Well, who cares.  Both organizations took important steps last week to side on behalf of LGBT rights and marriage equality.

First the ABA.  which last week passed an organizational wide resolution calling for a full repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  The resolution, according to Edge Publications, seeks the end of the provision in DOMA that excludes married same-sex couples from access to federal benefits, such as Social Security, that are available to married heterosexuals.  In other words, the ABA took DOMA to task for depriving gay and lesbian couples more than 1,100 federal benefits that heterosexual couples receive from the federal government.

The NEA, on the other hand, not only lambasted DOMA, but called for the passage of employment non-discrimination legislation, domestic partnership legislation, and immigrant equality legislation.  Trifecta.  Here's the scoop from On Top Magazine.

...the NEA voiced its support for repeal of DOMA, passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill currently before Congress that would ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, a bill that would extend health-care and retirement benefits to the gay and lesbian spouses of federal employees, and the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), a bill that would allow gay and lesbian Americans to sponsor an immigrant partner for citizenship.

The NEA also said it would “support its affiliates seeking to enact state legislation that guarantees to same-sex couples the right to enter into a legally recognized relationship,” then added that “each state decide for itself whether 'marriage,' 'civil union,' 'domestic partnership,' or some other term is most appropriate.”

Another item said the association opposes gay marriage bans.

It's great that one organization dedicated to upholding and preserving the law finds that bills like the Defense of Marriage Act are dangerous and foster inequality, and it's great that one organization dedicated to excellence in teaching and public schools thinks that marriage equality and non-discrimination policies are crucial for our country.

Now if we can just get the American Medication Association (AMA) to say something, we'll have an alphabet soup contingent of marriage equality supporters.