Maybe Obama Should Retake His Con Law Class

by Michael Jones · 2009-06-05 13:18:00 UTC
Topics:

Obama

OK, OK, maybe Obama doesn't need a lecture in Constitutional Law, given that he taught the subject at the University of Chicago for a number of years.  But it is a bit of ironic news to see that Obama's very own Constitutional Law professor, Laurence Tribe, has come out strong against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and believes that Obama's Justice Department should not defend DOMA in a federal lawsuit filed by the Boston-based Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD).

Here's what Professor Tribe told Paul Sousa, the vision behind domaflipflop.com:

"I certainly agree (a) that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional, at least as applied to couples like those who are currently challenging it in federal court here in Massachusetts.... I'm not at all reluctant to have it known that I think the equality component of the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause forbids the federal government to deny same-sex spouses benefits identical to those that it would grant to opposite-sex spouses when the spouses are "married" under the law of their state -- that is, when the spouses were married and reside in states where the law forbids a distinction between same-sex and opposite-sex marriage and rejects the DOMA definition of 'marriage.

The Obama administration has until June 29 to determine whether or not it will defend DOMA in federal courts.  In the meantime, you can continue to help pressure Obama on DOMA by joining the DOMA Flip Flop Facebook group, and sending your own postcard to the White House. The below video gives you some instructions, too :)


Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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