No, President Obama is not 'ignoring' DOMA—he's keenly aware of its callous awfulness

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12/04/2012

by Jeremy Hooper

I keep hearing social conservatives saying that the Obama administration is "ignoring" the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. This one comes from NOM's Damian Goddard:

Of course, it’s a law Barack Obama is completely ignoring, ordering the DOJ last year to stop defending DOMA in court.

It is obvious where the Obama Administration stands on the issue. [DamianGoddard.com]

But no. No, no, no, no, no.

The truth of why the Obama administration is no longer defending DOMA lies not in blind eyes or deaf ears; it's precisely because this administration has been paying attention that the administration made the choice to stop defending a law that it finds patently unconstitutional. President Obama ordered DOJ to stop defending the contrived act of Congress because he understands that a reactionary body of lawmakers' ability to achieve enough mid-'90s votes does not equate to legal merit.

The other side loves to accuse us of ignorance. If we reject certain religious teachings, then they jump to the easy conclusion that we are not schooled in that particular religious book. If voters support a certain lawmaker, they'll say it's because those voters don't understand his or her real agenda. If the polling is unfavorable to their cause, then the pollster is portrayed as skewed or the electorate unfairly weighted. With the "pro-family" movement, it can never be as simple as someone (or body of someones) rejecting their words and/or deeds. Opposing them is always portrayed as some sort of ignorance. Like we have to brush aside what they contend to be truth in order to arrive at our beliefs.

But no. We reject DOMA because anyone who reasonably considers DOMA with an honest legal aptitude will reject this awful law. President Obama has a front row seat to the proceedings, a background that gives him keen insight, and a platform from which to make a difference. He's seizing the right side of history and winning the future. He doing this because he is paying attention.

*Want to support this site and its mission? The absolute best way is to purchase or download Jeremy's book, which you can do here. Ignorance is not bliss.

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