Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act

President Barack ObamaThe White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NWWashington DC, 20500

Dear Mr. President,
            The 2008 election represented a historic step forward in the fight for equal rights in the United States of America. Although this election served as a testament to the hard work of countless individuals who sacrificed so-much for the cause of civil rights, it also served as chilling reminder of the persistence of discrimination in American Society. As you are most certainly aware, three states, California, Florida and Arizona, passed legislation that prevented Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual citizens from being afforded the plethora of legal rights of marriage. The systematic denial of over fifteen hundred legal rights to a specific group of people, based on nothing more than their sexual orientation or gender identity, represents discrimination at its most elementary and is fundamentally incompatible with the values and ideas that the United States was founded upon.  
            Yet, we fear that this discrimination has been institutionalized at both the state and federal levels. The Defense of Marriage Act (Public Law No. 104-199, 110 Stat. 2419) specifically prohibits the federal government of the United States from affording the rights of marriage to any same sex marriages, even if they are recognized or were conducted by a state. Furthermore, the law allows for other states to not recognize same sex marriages, even if they were legally performed and recognized in other states, a concept that is antithetical to the Full Faith and Credit clause of the US constitution. 
            While we understand that there are many other important issues that must be addressed promptly, such as the ailing state of the economy and a multitude of overseas conflicts, we believe that the preservation of freedom for all citizens is one of the most important duties the constitution assigns the office of President. We therefore request that you work to promptly repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and insist that all states treat citizens, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, equally.