U.S. House Affirms DOMA

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U.S. House Affirms DOMA

Special Report - July 11, 2011
On July 7th, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in support of an amendment to affirm the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman for all federal purposes. The amendment, which was attached to H.R. 2219-Department of Defense Appropriations Act 2012, was co-sponsored by North Carolina Representative Virginia Foxx (R-5) and Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN). The Foxx-Burton Amendment to H.R. 2219 states, “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used in contravention of section 7 of title 1, United States Code (the Defense of Marriage Act).”

The House overwhelmingly approved the Foxx-Burton Amendment by a vote of 248-175. A bipartisan majority of the North Carolina delegation voted in favor of the proposal, including: Representatives Howard Coble (R-6), Renee Ellmers (R-2), Virginia Foxx (R-5), Walter Jones (R-3), Larry Kissell (D-8), Patrick McHenry (R-10), Mike McIntyre (D-7), Sue Myrick (R-9), and Heath Shuler (D-11). Voting against the Foxx-Burton Amendment from North Carolina were Representatives G.K. Butterfield (D-1), Brad Miller (D-13), David Price (D-4), and Mel Watt (D-12).

During her remarks while presenting the amendment on the House floor, Rep. Foxx took issue with the Obama Administration’s decision not to enforce DOMA, saying that “what sets the United States apart from many other countries that have lots of resources are our values, and that we are a Nation of laws. We may not agree with all of our laws, but they are the laws of our land, and not even the President can decide which laws to enforce and which not to enforce. Yet this administration has said it will not enforce the Defense of Marriage Act.”

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, praised the U.S. House vote in favor of the Foxx-Burton amendment, saying that it “sends a clear signal to the courts that the issue of homosexuals serving openly in the military is far from resolved. The House has also rejected the Obama administration's continual circumvention of federal marriage law.”

In recent months, the Obama Administration has directed the U.S. Attorney General and the Department of Justice not to act to defend DOMA in court. More recently, the White House has strengthened its opposition to DOMA, directly filing a legal brief to challenge the constitutionality of the statute.

The 2012 Defense Appropriations Act, along with the Foxx-Burton amendment affirming DOMA, will now face consideration in the U.S. Senate.

Related resources:
Court Approves Homosexuals in Military- July 7, 2011
DOMA Defenders Change Minds- April 26, 2011
U.S. House to Intervene in DOMA Defense - March 15, 2011
White House Wants DOMA Repeal - August 19, 2009