Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) does not feel that there will be enough support to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act this year, or next.  According to Nadler, sponsor of the DOMA repeal bill, other pro-LGBT bills will take precedence during the next legislative session.

DC Agenda is covering the story:

Nadler said Congress won’t take up the DOMA repeal next year because other LGBT-related bills, including the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, legislation providing partner benefits for LGBT federal workers and a repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” are taking precedence. Supporters hope to pass those measures by the end of 2010.

“The Respect for Marriage Act comes up after that, maybe at the end of the next Congress, maybe afterward,” he said.

Fortunately, 2010 may see the passage of another bill Nadler has been pushing, the Uniting American Families Act to remove immigration restrictions on binational couples.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s (D-New York) Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal regulations barring recognition of same-sex couples by the federal government, has topped 100 co-sponsors as of October 14.

On Top Magazine reports on the rising legislation:

“This progress demonstrates in no uncertain terms that support for our legislation is growing every day and that there is broad support from across the country to repeal DOMA now. Gay and lesbian Americans simply must not be the target of discrimination under federal law,” [Rep. Nadler] added.

The 101 total cosponsors represent 27 states and the District of Columbia.

Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY), and out reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Jared Polis (D-CO) will hold a press conference on Tuesday, September 15, to announce a bill seeking to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  The introduction will occur just six days shy of its 13th anniversary – September 21st, 1996 – when it was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.  The Advocate is carrying the breaking story:

A Democratic aide confirmed that a press conference to announce the bill will be held September 15 at 11 a.m. at the House Triangle.

Nadler told the Bay Area Reporter in July that the bill would amount to a full repeal of DOMA, including Section 2, which advises states to disregard same-sex marriages that have been legally performed in other states, and Section 3, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

The bill currently has over 50 co-sponsors, and is supported by President Barack Obama.  A partner bill for the Senate has not been announced.

The higher you go up the political ladder, the more difficult it can be to find committed advocates for LGBT issues.  Thankfully, there appears to be no shortage of allies from the state of New York, and U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler is definitely one of them.

Politico reports he is now the leading force behind a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.  Glenn Thrush writes:

I’m told that liberals, led by Jerry Nadler, who represents Manhattan’s West side and chairs the Judiciary Committee’s Constitution subcommittee, are working on a repeal bill that could be at the “Dear Colleague” stage within weeks. It’s likely to garner dozens of co-sponsors.

Nadler has also co-sponsored the Military Preparedness Enhancement Act to repeal DADT, in addition to serving as the primary sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act, which would allow foreign same-sex partners of US citizens to gain US Citizenship in much the same way heterosexual couples can.

Nadler originally voted against the Defense of Marriage Act back in 1996.

Two years after it was initially proposed, New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler is re-introducing a bill that would offer same-sex bi-national relationships equal treatment as bi-national marriages. Currently, American born citizens cannot sponsor same-sex partners for immigration to the United States. The bill will be proposed on Thursday and currently has 43 co-sponsors.

Pink News UK reports:

It was co-sponsored by 118 of the 435 members of the House in its first introduction in May 2007.

The 2000 US Census estimated that in the United States there were almost 40,000 lesbian and gay couples in which one partner is a US citizen (or permanent resident), and the other a foreign national.

This figure does not include the thousands of bi-national couples who hide the fact they are partners, are forced to live apart, or who have been forced to leave the United States.

Advocacy group Immigration Equality told Metro Weekly:

“The Obama administration has been supportive.

“He did not co-sponsor the bill in the Senate, but he was very clear in the campaign that he supports the goals of this legislation.”

The Advocate reports on the specifics of the bill:

Gays cannot currently sponsor their partners for citizenship because, in the eyes of the federal government, same-sex partners cannot be considered spouses. The proposed legislation would require bi-national same-sex couples to prove that they intend lifelong commitment to one another as permanent partners, that they are financially interdependent, that they are currently unmarried to anyone else, that they are unrelated to each other, and that they are unable to “contract with that person a marriage cognizable under the Immigration and Nationality Act,” according to the original bill. The bill would also change terminology to define those couples as “permanent partners” instead of “spouses.”