Bob Barr: Repeal Defense of Marriage Act

"Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia, author of the Defense of Marriage Act signed into law by President Clinton, now says the statute overreaches the federal government's constitutional power and needs to be repealed.

The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, establishes the definition of marriage for federal purposes as only between one man and one woman and further clarifies that no state need recognize a same-sex marriage from any other state.

Barr introduced the law to the House of Representatives in 1996, but now says – regardless of any opinion on same-sex marriage itself – that the law gets in the way of states that do wish to legalize homosexual unions."