Equality CA statement of Obama's DOJ DOMA Brief

[FreeState]

Via email:


President Obama had a chance to take a strong stance against the Defense of Marriage Act – and he blew it, going back on his promise to repeal the discriminatory law.

In a recent California Federal Court challenge filed by a couple married in California, President Obama's Justice Department filed a brief supporting DOMA and justifying discrimination in government benefits against legally married same-sex couples.

Enough is enough.

Demand that President Obama stop defending DOMA and instruct the Department of Justice to take any and all actions to support its repeal.

Demand President Obama push for complete equality for LGBT Americans, as he promised during his campaign.

We have been promised too much and have waited too long.

Send a letter using EQCA’s Action Center and it will be delivered immediately to President Obama.

www.eqca.org/takeaction

President Obama has let us down. He can still fix this mistake, but he must act fast. Make sure he knows you want full equality now.

Please forward to everyone you know.

In solidarity,


Geoff Kors
Executive Director
Equality California

[NMMNG]

1. This wasn't a mistake

Obama has chosen to blatantly defend DOMA in the cruelest and most calculating way possible. He's done more damage to us than Bush ever did or could. He's set us back years, maybe decades.

[jody]

2. I support GL efforts. The GL community needs to press to have same-sex marriage recognized as an

inalienable right and not subject to the whims of a simple majority of the vote.

[county worker]

3. Congress can repeal DOMA not Obama and not theDOJ!

Did any of you ever take civics in school?

[FreeState]

4. Obama promised the GLBT community he would use his bully pulpit to overturn it n/t

[Starry Messenger]

5. You sound whiny.

[LostinVA]

7. I think they never got this:

[county worker]

8. I am whining. It's been a long day here. Everyone took the day off but me.

Here is what I am whining about. I know this doesn't sound right but anyway. Many of my friends are gay. My sister-in-law whom I love is gay. Obama is not anti-gay. Attacking him needlessly does not do anything to Obama but hurts the gay cause.

I am gave money to defeat Prop 8. I will work to get an anti Prop 8 amendment on the ballot here in CA. I have no reason to attack gay DUers. They have no reason to attack Obama on this DOJ case today.

By the way here is an email I just got from the group I send money to and work with.


This changed my life‏
From: Jackki Hirahara, Courage Campaign ([e-mail])
Sent: Fri 6/12/09 11:13 AM
To: Robert Cochran ([e-mail])

On Saturday or Sunday, June 20-21, Courage Campaign members will be hosting fun and informational Equality Team events at homes across California to kick off our campaign to repeal Prop 8 and restore marriage equality to California.

Jackki Hirahara -- one of our Fresno County Equality Team volunteer leaders -- wants to share with you her personal reasons for encouraging you to host a community meeting at your house on either June 20 or June 21...



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Robert --

Election night broke my heart.

While I was thrilled that Barack Obama became our President, the passage of Prop 8 was painful. I'm straight and have the right to marry whomever, whenever, and wherever I choose. But to just accept that as the way things are -- and walk away from those who don't share the same rights -- was not an option.

So when the Camp Courage training event came to Fresno in March, I signed up right away, hoping to meet people just like me who share the same values. It was transformative. Hearing the moving "stories of self" told by people -- gay and straight alike -- helped me realize that I could no longer be silent in my community.

That's why I decided to get involved with the Courage Campaign's Equality Program and co-host our first meeting at a friend's home back in March.

The last three months have been a blur. Almost every weekend since March, our grassroots team of local folks has knocked on doors across Fresno County, talking with voters and changing hearts and minds. And just a few weeks ago, more than 3,000 people converged in Fresno to "Meet in the Middle for Equality" -- an historic event in the Central Valley.

Being a part of this Equality Team in Fresno -- and a part of a larger community of people across California just like me working for marriage equality -- has changed my life.

Now you have an opportunity to make a difference as well. On June 20-21, the Courage Campaign is launching the next round of Equality Program kick-off meetings in communities that do not have Equality Teams. Your community needs a host for this event. Will you host a kick-off meeting in your home? The deadline to decide is this Monday at 5 p.m.:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/CommunityHost

What's cool is that while the Courage Campaign hopes that all event hosts will take on an ongoing role, hosts are not obligated to be the primary leaders of their County Equality Team.

The responsibility of the host is to be a facilitator -- to talk about the purpose of the teams and get the other participants involved in brainstorming. That's what we did at our house meeting back in March, as we discussed what Courage Campaign Equality Teams do county-by-county across California:

First, we contact voters in our community using Courage's easy-to-use Equality Hub and other voter contact tools.
Second, we are the voice of our county on coordinated statewide Courage Campaign actions.
Third, we organize community-specific events that connect people that want to get involved.
I hope you will host an Equality Team kick-off meeting at your house on either June 20 or 21. Your involvement in the next phase of this campaign is crucial -- and now is the time to get started. Just sign up here before Monday at 5 p.m. to host a kickoff house meeting in your community:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/CommunityHost

Thank you for letting me tell you my story. Together, we will restore marriage equality to every community of California.

Jackki Hirahara
Volunteer Coordinator, Courage Campaign Fresno County Equality Team




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Courage Campaign Issues is part of the Courage Campaign's online organizing network that empowers more than 700,000 grassroots and netroots supporters to push for progressive change and equality in California.


To power our campaign to repeal Prop 8, please chip in what you can today:




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[Starry Messenger]

10. He's a man with all of his rights and is the leader of the free world.

I live in California too, I have a gay cousin with a partner and a small child. I am doing the same things you are for repealing prop 8. I was a tireless cheerleader for Obama. He sucks on this. Maybe you should just sit this day out and read up. There's a good blog at Pam's House Blend that can take you through the reasons that this is such an outrage:

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/11427/the-obama-admin-defends-doma-in-a-brief-comparing-marriage-equality-to-incest

[county worker]

12. I agree the case is an outrage. The DOJ is an outrage to defend DOMA.

That's all I agree on.

[Starry Messenger]

13. Thank you for your input.

I hope you will read that blog post.

[county worker]

15. I tried to read it but I have to wait until I get home. This computer will not open it.

[WillParkinson]

11. "Obama is not anti-gay"...

As the saying goes, "with friends like these"...

[nichomachus]

17. No he's not

He's a politician. He's not pro and anti anything -- except Obama. He will do what he needs to do to feather his own nest.

He's not your father, your brother, your prom date, or your coach -- he's a politician. He does whatever he thinks will get him the most money and/or the most votes. This is all just a crass calculation. It's just math. It's nothing personal. They sat down with a calculator and figured out how many votes they would lose by doing this and how many votes they would gain.

If you're looking for any kind of principled behavior here, be prepared to be disappointed. Fall in love with him at your own peril.

[WillParkinson]

19. Believe me, I never fell in love with the man...

I know full well he's a politician, but he's working hard at alienating a part of his base, and for what? To garner votes with the "other side"? Sorry, I don't feel like being a bartering chip or a chess piece.

[LostinVA]

6. Ah -- a poster child for having a GLBT Group!

Ho nice to see you!

[county worker]

9. ? please explain

[LostinVA]

14. No

[county worker]

18. People who disagree with your politics don't necessarily disagree with your goals

[cboy4]

16. Hey it was one of Obama's major campaign promises .. congress didn't

bring this up to try to trick anyone.

So if this wasn't all a big game .. a big trick .. a big scam on Obama's part .. then it's his responsibility to tell congress it's something he wants done, and for them to get working on it.

He has all of the power and authority in the world to push this through with a Democratic majority in government.

It's doesn't sound as though civics was high on your curriculum with your lousy opinion that the ball is in the congress' court.