BILL NUMBER: AJR 19	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 31, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 25, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Brownley and Feuer
   (Principal coauthor: Senator Leno)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Jones, Ma,  and John
A. Perez   John A. Perez,   Arambula, 
 Bass,   Beall,   Block,  
Blumenfield,   Buchanan,   Charles Calderon, 
 Chesbro,   Coto,   De La Torre,   De
Leon,   Eng,   Evans,   Fong,  
Fuentes,   Furutani,   Galgiani,   Hall,
  Hayashi,   Hernandez,   Hill,  
Huber,   Huffman,   Krekorian,   Lieu,
  Bonnie Lowenthal,   Mendoza,   Monning,
  Nava,   Ruskin,   Salas,  
Saldana,   Skinner,   Solorio,   Swanson,
  Torlakson,   Torrico,   and Yamada 
)
   (Coauthor: Senator Kehoe)

                        MAY 18, 2009

   Relative to marriage.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 19, as amended, Brownley. Marriage.
   This measure would call upon the Congress and the President of the
United States to repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.

   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, Thousands of same-sex couples in California were legally
married following the California Supreme Court's May 2008 decision in
In re Marriage Cases, prior to the passage of the discriminatory
Proposition 8, which purported to prospectively eliminate the right
of same-sex couples to marry in this state; and
   WHEREAS, The Defense of Marriage Act is a federal law passed on
September 21, 1996, and codified at Section 7 of Title 1 and Section
1738C of Title 28 of the United States Code; and
   WHEREAS, The Defense of Marriage Act provides that the United
States government will not recognize or give effect to marriages
between persons of the same sex for purposes of federal law; and
   WHEREAS, The Defense of Marriage Act excludes same-sex couples who
are legally married in California from accessing the more than 1,000
federal rights and benefits that are afforded to opposite-sex
spouses; and
   WHEREAS, Among the critical rights and benefits that federal law
provides to protect couples and families are the right to sponsor a
spouse for immigration benefits, the right to access Social Security
survivors benefits, the right to receive health insurance from a
federal employee spouse, the right to file federal income taxes
jointly, and hundreds of other crucial protections; and
   WHEREAS, Among other discriminatory harms, because of the Defense
of Marriage Act, workers in California must pay federal income taxes
on the value of health benefits provided by an employer to the
same-sex spouse of an employee, while health benefits provided to
opposite-sex spouses are not taxed, and this discrimination results
in serious financial detriment to many same-sex couples and their
families in California; and
   WHEREAS, The Defense of Marriage Act provides that no state is
required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial
proceeding of any other state respecting a relationship between
persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws
of the other state or a right or claim arising from that
relationship; and
   WHEREAS, The Defense of Marriage Act, therefore, authorizes other
states to discriminate against same-sex couples who are legally
married in California by refusing to recognize or protect their
relationships when they travel outside of California; and
   WHEREAS, The Defense of Marriage Act causes significant harm and
unfairly discriminates against committed same-sex couples and their
families; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature calls upon the Congress and
the President of the United States to repeal the discriminatory
Defense of Marriage Act; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President of the United States, to each
Senator and Representative in the Congress of the United States, and
to the presiding officer of each house of each state legislature of
the several states.