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A Rant about the "Defense Of Marriage" Act

I am a second class citizen of the United States of America.

President Clinton signed the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" on September 21, 1996. This is not surprising. Even in the 1992 presidential campaign, Clinton said that he would sign such a bill.

Marriage is for the first time defined by the U.S. federal government as being only between one man and one woman. Thousands of couples, as loving as any other, cannot marry.

This new law should be called the "Denial of Homosexual Marriage Law". The law is in no way a promotion or defense of marriage. In fact, it specifically denies people who want to be married the right to do so solely because of their sexual orientation. This is a law that prevents marriages rather than preserving them.

[Or is this really about gender discrimination? Think about it: if I married a woman, that would be okay - unless I were a woman also. Sounds like gender-based discrimination to me!]

This is no preservation of marriage, or even just heterosexual marriage; it is a stamp of disapproval of homosexual marriage.

I'm disappointed that the president of the country in which I live would deny what most people take as a fundamental right. I'm disappointed that he did not make a gesture against hate, bigotry, fear and ignorance. I'm disappointed that his greatest concern was facing this issue during a presidential campaign.

Heterosexual people, let me ask you this: Would you want your government to deny your commitment to your partner? And one last question: what if the federal definition of marriage were "two people of the same race of different gender"?

Do not let anyone tell you that America is a classless society.

There are people who seek to impede my access to legal protection.
I am not allowed to defend my country, because of ignorance and fear.
If I married, my federal government would not consider that marriage legal.

I am a second class citizen of the United States of America.

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