Letter on the so called "Defense Of Marriage Act"
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June 13, 1996

Dear President Clinton,

Your record of viewing marriage only as be between one man and one woman is consistent. Yet you at once 1) pledge that you will sign as is, the so called "Defense Of Marriage Act" (or DOMA, now being rushed through congress) into federal law, and 2) fail to publicly acknowledge and remedy the disadvantages and hostilities U.S. citizens in committed same-gender relationships experience.

By failing to publicly acknowledge and remedy either through a veto or amendments to the legislation (as Governor Roy Romer of Colorado did in his state earlier this year), you in fact are participating in preserving the climate of hostility and vulnerability these couples experience. This, I'm sure, is like throwing sand in the eyes of gays, lesbians and their supportive families and friends.

Still, it is not too late for you to 1) acknowledge committed same-gender relationships as being different from marriage 2) clarify the value (if any) same-gender relationships have in our society and 3) articulate the need to remedy inequity towards same-gender couples. In this, you like Governor Romer can uphold both the humanity, and rights of adult gay and lesbian couples, their supportive families and their friends as citizens of the United States of America.

Sincerely,

Marcus Stringer
Redmond, WA
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