Washington, D.C. -
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) will hold a press conference on Tuesday with three gay couples who wish they could get married.
And then on Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). That 1996 law defines marriage as being between one man and one woman.
Feinstein and 28 Democratic co-sponsors are pushing a bill, called the "Respect for Marriage Act," to repeal DOMA.
"These couples live their lives like all married people; they share the bills, they raise children together, and they care for each other in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, until death do they part. But because of DOMA, they have been denied federal protections. It is time to right this wrong," she said.
Earlier this year, Feinstein and other Democratic lawmakers also appeared in a "It Gets Better" video. The other lawmakers included Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
And then on Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). That 1996 law defines marriage as being between one man and one woman.
Feinstein and 28 Democratic co-sponsors are pushing a bill, called the "Respect for Marriage Act," to repeal DOMA.
"These couples live their lives like all married people; they share the bills, they raise children together, and they care for each other in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, until death do they part. But because of DOMA, they have been denied federal protections. It is time to right this wrong," she said.
Earlier this year, Feinstein and other Democratic lawmakers also appeared in a "It Gets Better" video. The other lawmakers included Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
