DOMA, which stands for the Defense of Marriage Act, is quite inappropriately named. First of all, there is nothing contained in it that defends my marriage. Second, even if I did need some outside party to defend my marriage (which I don’t), I certainly would not choose the government to do so.
How does DOMA defend my marriage? By refusing to acknowledge someone else’s marriage? That is exclusivity, not defense. Refusal to acknowledge the marriage of two loving people does not make my marriage more sound anymore than refusing someone else food makes me more full. It is simply a ridiculous idea. The value and sanctity of my marriage is based solely upon the value my wife and I place on our marriage and how we act within the bounds of that marriage.
I don’t know how many times I have heard, since this debate started, that “the Bible defines marriage as one man and one woman.” I find it ironic that in a country which was founded largely to escape religious persecution, so many would use their own religion to persecute others. Not everyone in this country is a Christian. And not all Christians in this country use their religion as a reason to deny others their Constitutional right to equal protection under the law. I do not want to live under Sharia law, regardless of which religion it is that is imposing it on the rest. I consider it a great thing that residents of this country are free to choose any religion they want, or no religion at all, if that is their preference.
As for the idea of the government being the one to defend my marriage, that is simply out of the question. How is a government which cannot balance the budget, repeatedly violates our civil rights in name of “security” (NDAA, Patriot Act, TSA, etc), and starts wars with no exit strategy supposed to make me feel more secure in my marriage? I would sooner entrust my marriage to a pack of wolves. At least they understand the concept of loyalty.
In summary, the time for DOMA to be overturned was before it was ever passed and signed into law. But as the saying goes, better late than never. It is past time that we live up the ideal put forth in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal.”
