Senate Judiciary Committee To Consider DOMA Repeal Bill In November

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) announced that his committee will mark up and vote on legislation to repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act sometime in November. The so-called Respect for Marriage Act would rescind DOMA and allow the federal government to provide benefits to same-sex couples legally married in Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Connecticut, Iowa, and the District of Columbia. The bill would not compel individual states to recognize same-sex marriages, however. The measure boasts 30 co-sponsors in the Senate and 121 in the House.