Bill Text: TX HCR110 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Urging the president of the United States to defend the Defense of Marriage Act.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 20)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-04-06 - Referred to State Sovereignty, Select [HCR110 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HCR110-Introduced.html
| 82R12219 BPG-D | ||
| By: Workman | H.C.R. No. 110 | |
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| WHEREAS, President Barack Obama took an oath to "preserve, | ||
| protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," but on | ||
| February 23, 2011, he instructed the U.S. Department of Justice to | ||
| stop defending the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage | ||
| Act; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, was passed in | ||
| 1996 with overwhelming majorities in both houses of Congress and | ||
| signed into law by then president Bill Clinton; DOMA consists of two | ||
| core provisions: it defines the words "marriage," "spouse," | ||
| "husband," and "wife" wherever they appear in the U.S. Code as | ||
| referring only to the union of a man and a woman, and it defends the | ||
| right of each state to reject the redefinition of marriage that has | ||
| occurred in a handful of other states as a result of state court | ||
| decisions or legislation; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Nearly 40 states have enacted laws defending the | ||
| institution of marriage, and 31 have embraced traditional marriage | ||
| in their constitutions; the Texas Defense of Marriage Act was | ||
| signed by the governor in 2003, and the statute was solidified with | ||
| a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a | ||
| man and a woman, which was approved by voters in November 2005; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The constitutional role of the president of the | ||
| United States is to execute the laws, not adjudicate them; it is | ||
| well-established policy of the U.S. Department of Justice to defend | ||
| a federal statute unless no reasonable argument can be made in its | ||
| defense, but instead President Obama has unilaterally decided that | ||
| DOMA is unconstitutional; the constitutionality of this law should | ||
| be determined by the courts, not by the executive branch; now, | ||
| therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby respectfully urge the president of the United States to | ||
| order the U.S. Department of Justice to defend the | ||
| constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act; and, be it | ||
| further | ||
| RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward an | ||
| official copy of this resolution to the president of the United | ||
| States. | ||
