Protest of Defense of Marriage Act set for downtown Dallas on January 10

by PegNews wire

Just ten days before Barack Obama is sworn in as the next president of the United States, Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender (GLBT) people across the country will be protesting against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Queer Liberaction is organizing the protest to take place on January 10, 2009 in Dallas's Historical Plaza just behind the Records Building. The Records Building is located at 509 Main St. in downtown Dallas. The protest will begin at 11:30 AM.

The message of the protest is to reaffirm the GLBT community's opposition to this discriminatory piece of federal legislation. On paper Barack Obama is in favor of repealing the Defense of Marriage Act. Gays and Lesbians across the country will be protesting on January 10 to send the message to the purportedly most GLBT friendly president-elect that their community demands the repeal of DOMA along with other pro-Gay and pro-equality action.

The Defense of Marriage Act is an anti-Gay federal piece of legislation which does two things. First, it legally excludes GLBT families from marriage benefits by defining marriage on a federal level as between a man and a woman. All the federal benefits that accompany marriage, such as immigration rights and tax breaks, are denied to non-heterosexual couples. DOMA also states that a marriage between two people of the same sex does not need to be recognized outside of the state where that marriage took place. Because of this, same-sex marriages that take place in the two states with marriage equality, Massachusetts and Connecticut, are not required to be recognized by other states.

With the presidential inauguration being but a week and a half from the nationwide demonstration against DOMA the event will focus on the Federal Defense of Marriage Act. A total of 37 states have passed state versions of DOMA and 30 states have approved constitutional amendments banning legal recognition of same-sex marriage.

Queer Liberaction will send the message to Obama that GLBT people demand full marriage equality and that homophobic legislation, such as DOMA, must be repealed. "Seventy percent of the GLBT community voted for Obama. Now with Obama about to be in office we demand serious action such as the repeal of DOMA and pressuring the legislature to pass an inclusive federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act," says Blake Wilkinson organizer with Queer Liberaction. He continues by saying, "If Obama sits back and takes a hands off approach to Gay and Lesbian equality he would not only be positioning himself on the wrong side of history but this lack of initiative would be a slap in the face to Gay and Lesbian families across the country who currently live in legal limbo".

Queer Liberaction is an organization dedicated to struggling for the civil rights of GLBT people. We use direct action activism to directly, visibly and publicly confront homophobia along with organizations, institutions, groups or individuals who support or promote discrimination toward the GLBT community.

Source: Queer Liberaction