Rep. Chu Calls on Speaker Boehner to Stop Wasting Taxpayer Money to Deny Marriage Equality
Press Release
Washington D.C. - Rep. Judy Chu (CA-32) today strongly condemned Speaker of the House John Boehner's decision to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court using the House of Representative's Office of the General Counsel. This decision came in the wake of President Obama's order for the Justice Department to stop defending the controversial law in court.
"It is outrageous that Speaker Boehner wants to waste taxpayer money defending this outdated and discriminatory policy, while the American people are asking Congress to focus on jobs, jobs, jobs," said Rep. Chu. "Speaker Boehner is clinging to the past while the American people want us to move forward. Instead of focusing on jobs and the economy, it is becoming increasingly clear that House Republicans are preoccupied with pursuing their own ideological agenda."
DOMA, passed in 1996, defined marriage as the union of a man and a women, preventing same-sex marriages from receiving equal treatment under Federal law. Many legal experts had questioned the constitutionality of this discriminatory law and in February 2011, the Justice Department moved to stop defending its constitutionality in court.
Rep. Chu praised the Department's decision, saying "LGBT families are just like all other American families. They pay taxes, participate in their communities, raise children, and care for elderly parents. The Defense of Marriage Act is discriminatory, it's that simple. The American people elected us to get them back to work, not to limit their basic human rights."
Representative Judy Chu was elected in July 2009 to the U.S. House of Representatives as the Representative of California's 32nd District, which includes East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley. She is a member of the House Judiciary and Small Business Committees, as well as the new chair of CAPAC.
Congresswoman Chu's career in politics spans 24 years. A lifelong educator, Congresswoman Chu taught community college classes in Los Angeles and East Los Angeles for 20 years. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology and a B.A. in mathematics.
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