Nassau County District Attorney and attorney general candidate Kathleen Rice said a couple of weeks ago that she plans to sue the federal government over the Defense of Marriage Act if elected New York’s next attorney general.
Shortly thereafter, we started a campaign ask the other candidates for Attorney General in New York whether, if elected, would he or she defend all citizens and families of New York, including the married same-sex couples there, and legally join the fight against Section 3 of DOMA, which denies all 1,138 federal marriage benefits to married same-sex couples of Rhode Island.
Since then, candidates Sean Coffey and Eric Schneiderman have also come out against DOMA. Now, I’m please to report that attorney general candidate Eric Dinallo has also spoken out on the matter. See his full statement below:
As Attorney General, Eric Dinallo would join the Massachusetts’ lawsuit against the federal Defense of Marriage Act. This is certainly one route to securing justice for the LGBT community and New York should stand in solidarity with those willing to stand up to inequality.
Eric believes that marriage equality is a civil right that requires immediate action and has outlined an additional step he would take to secure this right in New York. As Attorney General, he will file an equal protection lawsuit against the state, based on a directive he issued when he ran the New York Insurance Department. In that role, he ordered insurance companies to provide same-sex couples married out of state with full spousal benefits – from auto to health to life insurance. Not all same-sex couples have the means to leave New York to marry, creating an unequal protection before the law – one that the state is obligated to correct. This is an additional path to achieving the right same-sex couples are wrongly denied.
Eric would file a lawsuit against DOMA as well. As he said when he released his LGBT agenda: “We cannot deny our family members, friends and neighbors the freedom to marry, freedom from discrimination and equal treatment before the law because of their sexual orientation. As Attorney General, I will fight the backwards policies that do just that.” This includes securing marriage equality in New York State – a case he would take to New York courts – as well as challenging federal laws, like DOMA, that discriminate against the LGBT community by failing to recognize same-sex marriage.
(Emphasis mine)
This is a great position and Mr. Dinallo also has a track record of working for LGBT rights. Major kudos to Eric Dinallo!
If you would like to get involved or support Eric Dinallo in his bid to become New York’s next attorney general, feel free to visit http://www.ericdinallo.com/
Tagged: Dan Donovan, Defense of Marriage Act, DOMA, Eric Dinallo, Eric Schneiderman, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Kathleen Rice, LGBT Rights, Marriage Equality, New York Attorney General, Richard Brodsky, Sean Coffey