The Obama administration’s DOJ filed a brief this week defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  Among other arguments made in the brief are the following:

• DOMA does not restrict any fundamental rights
• DOMA saves the federal government money (by denying same-sex benefits, etc.) and its elimination would require taxing others more
• Same-sex marriage is equivalent to incest and people marrying children
• Loving v. Virginia (which ruled bans on interracial marriages unconstitutional) has no application to DOMA

This brief does more than argue a defense of DOMA; it is an insult to all gay Americans. And it is yet another breach of Obama’s campaign promises. He has taken no action whatsoever to repeal DOMA.

When asked to explain the comparison of gay marriage to incest, a DOJ spokesman said the DOJ was merely doing what it generally does: defending existing law. However, there are many instances, involving constitutional claims, where the DOJ has joined in challenges to existing federal law.

In fact, George W. Bush (ACLU et al., v. Norman Y. Mineta – “The U.S. Department of Justice has notified Congress that it will not defend a law prohibiting the display of marijuana policy reform ads in public transit systems.”), Bill Clinton (Dickerson v. United States – “Because the Miranda decision is of constitutional dimension, Congress may not legislate a contrary rule unless this Court were to overrule Miranda…. Section 3501 cannot constitutionally authorize the admission of a statement that would be excluded under this Court’s Miranda cases.”), George HW Bush (Metro Broadcasting v. Federal Communications Commission), and Ronald Reagan (INS v./ Chadha – “Chadha then filed a petition for review of the deportation order in the Court of Appeals, and the INS joined him in arguing that § 244(c)(2) is unconstitutional.”) all joined in lawsuits opposing federal laws that they didn’t like, laws that they felt were unconstitutional. It is an outright lie to suggest that the DOJ had no choice.

One should also note that one of the three authors of the brief is a Bush holdover, a Mormon, and he received an award from Alberto Gonzalez for his work defending a ban on partial birth abortion.  As Andrew Sullivan notes:

So it becomes clearer. The harsh rhetoric, the gratuitous attacks on our relationships … they were written by someone who was given an award by Alberto Gonzales for his defense of the Partial Birth Abortion Act.

So who signed off on this brief? Who is responsible for this mess? Or are gays that low a priority for DOJ?

You can email the President to express your disappointment here.