President Obama Orders Justice Department to No Longer Defend Marriage

By Deacon Keith Fournier
2/27/2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

The President's decision to no longer defend marriage is a threat to the common good and must be opposed.

Fifteen years ago Congress overwhelmingly passed the Defense of Marriage Act. It was signed into law by President Clinton in 1996. On February 23, 2011, President Barack Obama unilaterally ordered the US Justice Department to stop defending marriage. The Attorney General sent a five-page letter simply announcing the President's decision to the Congress. Government has long regulated marriage for the common good and the President's action is a threat to the common good.

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WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - On February 23, 2011, President Barack Obama ordered the US Justice Department to stop defending marriage. The Attorney General of the United States, Eric Holder, the Nation's Chief Law Enforcement Officer released a statement which can be read in its entirety here. The Attorney General sent a five-page letter to Congress setting forth the President's decision to no longer enforce the Defense of Marriage Act. It was a copiously footnoted effort to legally defend the President's unilateral decision to not defend Federal law. The letter can be read here.

The President's Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters at an afternoon briefing that the President has always opposed the Defense of Marriage Act but that personally he is "still wrestling" with his view on "gay marriage." This kind of false dichotomy between the President's "personal opinion" and his executive leadership reminded me of his contrived "moral" struggle over abortion. President Obama is the most Pro-Abortion President in the history of the United States. His policies make that clear, no matter what his rhetoric tries to pretend. He still has the audacity to speak of his "moral" concerns over the matter. In 2008 he said, "I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian it is also a sacred union. God's in the mix." Now, look at what he has done. To use an old adage, he cries "crocodile tears."

Here is the game plan: make defending life and marriage sound "religious" and then argue that "religious" positions have no place in public policy. However, the truth about human life is written in the Natural Law and confirmed by medical science. We operate on our youngest neighbors in the womb. We prosecute criminals who kill them during the commission of another crime. Defending the intentional killing of these children at any time and for any reason is based on a notion of "freedom" as a raw power over those who are vulnerable and not wanted. The civil law manufactured a profane "right" to kill them.

Now the assault on marriage is underway with full force. Marriage is not simply a "religious" construct. The Natural Law reveals - and the cross cultural history of civilization affirms - that marriage is between a man and a woman, open to children and intended for life. Marriage is the foundation for the family which is the privileged place for the formation of virtue and character in children, our future citizens. The family is the first society, first economy, first school, first civilizing and mediating institution and first government.

All other government grows out of - and must support and not usurp - the primacy of this first government, the marriage bound family. The effort to force giving equal legal status to relationships which are incapable of being marriages and using the Police Power of the State to enforce this new order is nothing less than a cultural revolution and does not serve the common good.

Fifteen years ago Congress overwhelmingly passed the Defense of Marriage Act. It was signed into law by President Clinton in 1996. It can be read in its entirety here. Now President Obama has unilaterally decided he will not defend the law. He has ordered the US Justice Department to cease defending Federal Law.

On the day that Barrack Obama took the oath of office as the 44th President of the United States he said these words "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America." Sadly, the America which is emerging denies the fundamental human right to life for every human person from conception to natural death. Now, the President refuses to defend marriage. If we fail to act - the Nation we love may become a place where Catholics and other Christians may be forced to either retreat from participation in commerce and political life or face outright persecution.

The Human Rights Campaign was the first to react to the news, "This is a monumental decision for the thousands of same-sex couples and their families who want nothing more than the same rights and dignity afforded to other married couples," said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "As the President has stated previously, DOMA unfairly discriminates against Americans and we applaud him for fulfilling his oath to defend critical constitutional principles."

The Human Rights Campaign is "America's largest civil rights organization working to ...

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1 - 10 of 102 Comments

Rob
2 years ago
What do you expect? Both sides are willing to fall on their swords for their ideology, thus broken government. If one side is for it, the other side is against it, no matter what it is. I can't even follow it anymore because it's so broken. The failure to address the real causes of the deficit, our failure to consider raising taxes and our failure to want to cut any spending is what is causing the ship to sink. We can debate the size of the hole, but the whole left by our abject failure to deal with any of these issues, will sink the ship. In this case, ALL of the politicians are still looking for safe bets and cover. Am I disgusted these cuts didn't pass, yes. Am I disgusted we didn't have the common sense to raise revenue a few months ago, yes. And I'm disgusted that ideologies which are completely devoid of common sense don't solve anything. The only people with blinders on vance is all of us for tolerating this nonsense for as long as we have. We need a complete re-set.
vance
2 years ago
Rob, Today, every Marxist Democrat Senator voted against Speaker Boehner's $61 Billion Cut. Both sides the same, I don't think so. We have a $14 Trillion debt. That means 14 thousand billion dollars. What is 1% of 14 thousand billion? $140 Billion. What does the Marxist Democrat Party want to cut? $6.5 Billion. You are right about people with blinders on. What does it say about people who are out in the middle of a bay in a boat and cheer and applaud while people are sinking their boat.
Rob
2 years ago
I disagree vance. Fox News is a pretty powerful organization and has the ratings to demonstrate that in the media universe, it's just not the liberal message being delivered. I really think this has more to do with a country that is almost evenly split on the abortion issue rather than a party etc.
Kathryn
2 years ago
Those on the left have become very good at framing issues near and dear to them, and as this article to eloquently points out, that's the way to win an argument. They complain about "rights" being denied certain persons - these "rights" are not legally the government's to grant. The government does not grant rights - it protects those that have been given by God. Nowhere in the United States Constitution is a "right to marriage" or "right to kill your child" detailed. No one's rights are being taken away by defending marriage and unborn children. You can't take away what wasn't there in the first place.
vance
2 years ago
Rob, Speaker Boehner delivered the 'Goods' but Obama and the Marxist Democrat Party are 'Doubling Down' to fund abortion and break this country. Yes, I hope Boehner hangs tough against the Marxists but it's going to be rough because the Marxists own the media and Hollywood and that's a tough propaganda blitz to compete with.
Rob
2 years ago
Agreed Vance. I only hope that if the GOP does assume the White House in 2012, that you display the same level of zeal in ensuring that they pursue the same values. For my part, that is the missing component in this whole process. Conservatives do a great job getting their folks elected and then the promises are forgotten. It's part of the reason the GOP lost so badly in the elections cycles preceding the last one and a lot of the reason for the tea party. Obama was a convenient target, but if you forget the GOP's role in where we are at, then you can't solve the problem. Obama wouldn't even be in office if the GOP had cared less about power and were really conservative. Hopefully they have learned their lesson.
vance
2 years ago
Sara, your posts hit the proverbial nail on the head. I wish I could have said it as well as you. Speaker Boehner is in the process of forming a bi-partisan legal team to defend the Marriage Law. We the faithful should email Boehner's Office to thank and encourage him for his efforts. We should also be calling for Obama and Eric Holder to step down from office.
Gabriella
2 years ago
The idea of sexual 'intercourse' between same genders comes from the hell itself and Our Lord said that the gates of hell will never prevail....! - by their fruits you will know them - and we have yet to see some fruit that is edible and beneficial.

As soon as we cool off and stop paying so much attention to those erring people, their waters will subside. They are weaving a net of their own destruction so let us leave them alone and keep protecting our young ones by teaching them the Truth.
SaraPalen
2 years ago
it's about more than campaign promises as the Catholic Church is being directly indicted here by judicial activist judges and munincipalities. WE are being told by judges that gender has no role in the upbringing of our children. We better be paying attention to this. Even local bargaining units are pushing for these things. Will federal money be spent in our schools to promote this "tolerance"? Precedent by evil precedent, built on a foundation of sand is being set as Mr. Barron has alluded to, like they did with "privacy rights", including the "right" to kill a human being, under the 14th amendment. How sick is that to the Christian men who debated that amendment? Look around at what is happening in other countries. When this marriage equivalancy is acknowledged, Christians and others lose their rights to practice their faith. We need to hold our representatives feet to the fire. We need to speak out for the truth in a world of moral relativism.
Rob
2 years ago
vance, there are multitudes of laws the justice department does not pursue. Every administration picks their pet crimes and pursues them and leaves others unenforced. Maybe it's a lack of resources etc, but the fact remains, not every law is zealously pursued. But I will say this is different since there is pending litigation. I understand what you are saying about the oath, but I think that is subjective. Wouldn't every president who has not enforced immigration laws be guilty of this same crime? Again, I'm not trying to defend him, but I don't think this issue is as simplistic as folks are making it sound unfortunately. But like clockwork, the saber rattling of social issues has begun, must be capaign time again. It's about the only time social issues get any play and like campaign promises are quickly forgotten once their terms begin.

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