Equality advocates were quick to praise the president for his endorsement. Evan Wolfson, founder and President of Freedom to Marry urged members Congress to join the president in support of the repeal effort.
“The federal government should not be picking and choosing which marriages it will honor and which it will disregard when it comes to the important federal protections that come with marriage, such as Social Security, health coverage, fair tax treatment, and immigration rights,” Wolfson said.
“Congress should follow the President’s lead and return the federal government to its traditional practice of honoring all lawful marriages equally – without the ‘gay exception’ of DOMA.”
Earlier this year, the Department of Justice announced that it would no longer defend DOMA in court because it believed portions of the law to be unconstitutional.
Top photo: President Obama (via C-Span)