Senate Judiciary Committee Hears Testimony On Repeal Of DOMA

The Senate waded into the emotionally and politically-charged issue of gay marriage Wednesday, with the first-ever hearing on the repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. There was testimony from gay and lesbian witnesses, including a widower from Connecticut.

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room was packed with gay rights advocates and same-sex couples, as the committee engaged in a divisive debate over the merits of DOMA and a corresponding push to repeal of that law.

DOMA bars federal recognition of same-sex marriage. It also says states can’t be forced to recognize a same-sex marriage performed in another state.

In practice, DOMA denies legally married same-sex couples a bevy of pension, tax, and health benefits that married heterosexual couples enjoy. Andrew Sorbo, a 64-year-old retired school teacher from Berlin, Connecticut, testified at Wednesday’s session.

He and his partner of nearly thirty years were legally married in Connecticut in 2009. His husband, a doctor at West Haven Connecticut Veterans Administration Center, died four months later of pancreatic cancer. “DOMA hung over us like a dark and ominous cloud.”

The law made Sorbo ineligible for Atterbury’s VA pension, which was 80 percent of their household income. Sorbo said he was eventually forced to sell his home and downsize to a condo.

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal is a member of the Judiciary Committee. He said that Sorbo’s experience illustrates how DOMA interferes with states’ rights, including Connecticut’s decision to legalize gay marriage. "The federal government should recognize that law and give it the kind of sanctity that the founders of this nation meant for the laws our states to have.”

But others—lawmakers and witness alike—said protecting marriage as a union between one man and one woman was vital to protecting societal values and the nation’s children.

There's little to no chance that this politically divided Congress would act to repeal DOMA. The law's fate could be decided by the courts instead. 

For WNPR news, I’m Deirdre Shesgreen of the Connecticut Mirror.