U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R- Miami, has become the first member of the GOP to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.
Respect for Marriage was filed by Rep. Jerald Nadler, D-N.Y., and has 124 co-sponsors, until now all Democrats.
14 Comments
She's a Vice-Chair of the House LGBT Equality Caucus (which is as high in its ranks as a heterosexual can go) so this is no surprise!
This move by this Republican member of Congress should be a signal to those in the other party: this is not a partisan issue. If you are a Democrat, please don't be afraid to promote traditional or conservative views on cultural issues like marriage. Take a lesson from State Sen. Ruben Diaz!
If other Democrats don't speak out in defense of (traditional) marriage, then their party will see large-scale defections, especially if the party decides to put a pro-gay-marriage clause in its platform. When they did that with abortion, look what happened. Democrats: don't make the same mistake twice.
This awful person has representing us for years and we have been trying to get rid of her. Now maybe we can with the help of NOM. There are a lot of Cubans in our district so the representative will always be Cuban, but her radical ideas are not in line with the values of the Cuban community and there are many other good possibilities to pick from who do support good family values.
I appreciate NOM's headline for this. "First Republican Jumps Ship..."
As if they realize there will be more.
There will also be Democrats who jump ship. In the end, it is the final vote count that matters - even to bring a bill to the floor. Look at Obama, pushing a "bill" that is not a "Bill", yet. Trying, first to get backing for a virtual bill in Congress (supposedly for jobs, at 1/4 million each?)
Al - Love it. So true!
LOL, I love the "sinking ship" metaphor NOM uses for those still supporting DOMA!
Florida voted for one man, one woman marriage by over 60% in 2008. I guess this woman REALLY wants to lose her Congressional Seat in 2012. Personally, I'll donate to any Republican who runs against her, as long as whoever it is isn't a RINO like her.
Bravo for Ros-Lehtinen.
Whatever your party,it shouldn't renominate any of these people:
http://lgbt.tammybaldwin.house.gov/membership.shtml
This is no surprise. Sadly there are a couple more House members that are likely to take this position including Nan Hayworth and Judy Biggert. I call on NOM to try to defeat these losers just as u r with others!
She should be challenged in a primary. When you betray your constituents, all the money in the world will not save you. Remember: there are far more Democrats who support DOMA than Republicans who oppose it- and that is with Republicans having a comfortable majority. The bill is going nowhere in a hurry, and everyone knows that. We should focus on defeating her.
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has held her seat in the House of Representatives since 1989, and was easily re-elected in 2010. While she's conservative in many areas, she has long been sympathetic to GLBT people, many of whom make up her constituency.
I am in Nan Hayworth's district.I know she got the "Log Cabin Republican" endorsement.She has not gotten back to me since I handed her a letter proposing a "lite" Federal Marriage Amendment (taking out the actual prohibition of SSM,leaving an explicit prohibition of the constitutions of the USA or any state being construed to require "marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred on any union other than the union of a man and a woman").We know that the states would ratify that in a heartbeat if it got through Congress.