[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/defend-trayvon-instead-of-doma\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/defend-trayvon-instead-of-doma\/","headline":"Defend Trayvon Instead of DOMA","name":"Defend Trayvon Instead of DOMA","description":"An Iraq war veteran\u2019s case urges Democrats to speak out against efforts to defend DOMA. By Jason Carson Wilson Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi...","datePublished":"2012-04-02","dateModified":"2021-07-08","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/#Person","name":"Equally Wed","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/","identifier":787,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/john-boehner-representative-doma.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/john-boehner-representative-doma.jpg","height":367,"width":244},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/defend-trayvon-instead-of-doma\/","about":["Marriage Equality News"],"wordCount":331,"articleBody":" An Iraq war veteran\u2019s case urges Democrats to speak out against efforts to defend DOMA.By Jason Carson WilsonDemocratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland want House Speaker John Boehner, R-OH, to abandon efforts to defend 1996\u2019s Defense of Marriage Act, in regard to a case that involves a disabled Iraq war veteran, according to ThinkProgress.House Speaker John Boehner, R-OH\u201c[W]e strongly object to spending taxpayer money to intervene in this case against a decorated veteran, Tracey Cooper-Harris, and her spouse, Maggie Cooper-Harris,\u201d Pelosi and Hoyer wrote in their letter. \u201cThis decision clearly exceeds the scope of the original BLAG authorization, with which we initially disagreed.\u201dThey also decried the expense of defending DOMA\u2014some estimates peg it at $1.5 million, according to The Huffington Post\u2014money that could be used, for example, to investigate Trayvon Martin\u2019s shooting. Something that Pelosi and Hoyer asked Boehner to do.Tracey Cooper-Harris, who receives disability benefits and treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder as well as multiple sclerosis, claims the Veterans Affairs Administration\u2019s denial of spousal benefits to her wife violates Cooper-Harris\u2019 constitutional right to equal protection.House Republicans called the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) order to argue DOMA\u2019s constitutionality in Feb. 2010, when the Obama administration deemed it unconstitutional.DOMA forbids legal recognition of same-sex couples. However, BLAG also plans to defend U.S. Code\u2019s Title 38. Title 38 effectively defines spouses as straight couples. Hoyer and Pelosi described the move as more than just an assault on marriage equality.\u201cThis latest decision not only ignores the civil rights of LGBT Americans but opens a new, direct assault on veterans. The men and women of our Armed Forces serve with courage and dignity on behalf of our safety and security. They risk their lives for the country they love\u2014and they should not face prejudice at home because of whom they love,\u201d Pelosi and Hoyer also wrote.\u00a0Photo: johnboehner.house.gov"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Defend Trayvon Instead of DOMA","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/defend-trayvon-instead-of-doma\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]