NEWS FLASH

House Responds To Obama’s Marriage Endorsement By Reinforcing Discrimination | The House of Representatives passed a measure reinforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, just hours after President Obama announced his support for marriage equality. In a vote of 245 to 171, the members “voted to stop the Justice Department from using taxpayer funds to actively oppose DOMA — the Clinton-era law defining marriage as between a man and a woman that the Obama administration stopped enforcing in February 2011.” Sixteen Democrats voted in favor of the measure, while 7 Republicans opposed it. Among its many negative consequences, DOMA has denied federal benefits to same-sex couples and their families. House Republicans, however, have defended its constitutionality in 12 separate cases.