10 years ago today

Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA essentially set two things into law:

1. No state (or other political subdivision within the United States) need recognize a marriage between persons of the same sex, even if the marriage was concluded or recognized in another state.
2. The Federal Government may not recognize same-sex or polygamous marriages for any purpose, even if concluded or recognized by one of the states.

I think this act by Clinton was meant to appease the religious extremists out there by throwing the gays under the bus. The anger that came about in the LGBTQA community energized us to organize and fight back for this very basic right. The state of Massachusetts legalized gay marriage, Washington state missed by 1 vote, and now we wait for New Jersey, California and New York to see if they will throw the gays under the bus or do what is right.

Question of the day:

Would we have come this far in the fight for marriage equality if Clinton had not signed DOMA?