D.O.M.A.
An introduction to DOMA:
One of the largest obstacles to the legalization and recognition of same-sex marriage in the U.S. is the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Passed in 1996 under the Clinton administration in a time of social fear of a national spread of gay marriages. DOMA has two main parts that same-sex marriage supporters find discriminatory.
First, Section 2 of the bill gives states the federal right to refuse to recognize legal marriage contracts of other states (of course, only if they are between same-sex couples). This is due to Section 3, which defines the term “marriage” as being between “one man and one woman.” So if a gay couple is married in a state such as Massachusetts, where it is legal, they will not be recognized as married if they go to a state such as Utah, where bills have passed to exclude gay marriage. Because of this non-marital status, these couples are barred from filing joint taxes, receiving spousal benefits from social security, or the total of 1,100 benefits to married couples under federal law.
Written into the U.S. Constitution under Article IV, Section I is what is known as the “Full Faith and Credit Clause.” This section states that states must respect the “public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.” As marriage is considered a public act and record it would seem that DOMA is in conflict with the Constitution of the United States. However, the law still stands today.
There is strong opposition to DOMA. Obama administration with coordination from Attorney General Eric Holder, state that they will no longer stand in defense of the law, due to its discriminatory nature. A Federal Appeals court in New York has ruled the the act “unconstitutional,” and more challenges have risen throughout the past decade.
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Publication: Newsday Date: Feb, 25 2011
Cartoonist: Walt Handelsman Location: U.S.
Title: Defense of Marriage Act Number: N/A
President Obama is depicting writing the word “Gay” in between the words “of” and “marriage” in the phrase “Defense of Marriage Act”.
Tone of cartoon:
Framing of sexual minorities: Negative
Framing of equal rights for sexual minorities: Negative
In making this cartoon, the artist would have us believe Obama is fighting for the rights of gay marriage with priority over traditional marriage. This constructs a false dichotomy of “either or”. He implies that in being opposed to the Defense of Marriage Act, that President Obama wants to protect gay marriages but does not care about the effects on traditional marriage.
Anti-gay critics often claim that gay rights, including the legalization of same-sex marriage, are “special rights” for LGBT peoples. The grounds for claiming this are clearly unstable, as rights that everyone else enjoys can not be considered “special” if they are available to the rest of the population.
Publication: Tribune Media Services Date: November 18th, 2011
Cartoonist: Chan Lowe Location: U.S.
Title: N/A Number: N/A
A family of two fathers and a daughter sit on a couch in what is presumably their home. On the wall behind them is a marriage license for the state of New York. The t.v. in front of the family reports “The GOP-led house just passed a bill requiring states to honor other’s concealed weapons permits.” One of the fathers is speaking to the other one saying, “So logically…”
Tone of cartoon:
Framing of sexual minorities: positive
Framing of equal rights for sexual minorities: positive
Firstly, this cartoon portrays the same-sex couples as normal parents. Each member of the family sitting on the couch has a hand on one another, portraying a sense of love and unity that most families have for one another. Secondly, and most importantly, this cartoon shows the hypocritical actions of same-sex opposition. When it comes to something such as gun laws, they believe that all states should recognize the permits of other states, in fact, the house passed law saying so.
Unfortunately, when it comes to human rights, such as marriage, these same people say that states should get to choose whether they recognize marriage licenses or not, even though the constitution says otherwise.
Publication: The Scranton Times-Tribune Date: July 19th, 2011
Cartoonist: John Cole Location: U.S.
Title: Local NY/PA Gay Rights Number: 95646
This cartoon shows a gay couple being married, instead of saying “till death do you part,” they are being asked, “till you cross the state line of Pennsylvania.”
Tone of cartoon:
Framing of sexual minorities: Positive
Framing of equal rights for sexual minorities: Positive
This cartoon shows a personal impact of DOMA, and portrays it as illogical. Marriage is a ceremony of love and unity, that straight couples can trust on binding them unless they make the choice to split apart. For same-sex couples, however, this isn’t true. Their marriages are limited to areas that will accepted them.
If they wanted to move to a state such as Pennsylvania for any reason (such as moving closer to family, or better education), they become forcefully divorced, in essence. No questions. No input. No court hearings. Simply because they are of the same gender, their unity and their love is no longer recognized.
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Cartoon Sources:
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/photos/gay-marriage-cartoons/6
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/photos/gay-marriage-cartoons/20
http://www.caglecartoons.com/viewimage.asp?ID={2E18C19A-EFA1-448A-B2A8-9CB4D6A3269C}
Spectrum of Caricatures 