Sen. Brown clearly supports the discriminatory federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), but tries to change the subject instead of directly admitting it.

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) declared his support today for the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA, S.598), a bill that would repeal the so-called federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Senator Menendez is the 32nd U.S. Senator so far to co-sponsor the RMA and joins a growing list of senators — currently totaling 13 — who originally voted for DOMA in 1996 as a Senator or Representative.

Just to show how useless his three-tier position is in terms of inoculating him on the issue, last night Rick Santorum slammed Mittens. Romney’s defense of what happened in Massachusetts? He was just obeying the court’s orders.

I am so tired of stoopid-infused hate. On Saturday, Bob Vander Plaats hosted his so-called “Thanksgiving Family Forum” along with fellow bigots The National Organization for Marriage, and CitizenLink (Focus on the Family), where we got another chance to see the GOP Clown Car act pious in front of the fringe they need to survive the Republican primary in 2012.

It’s not surprising that NOM president Brian Brown asked those present (notably Romney and Huntsman passed on attending) what action they would take if the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), ruling it unconstitutional.

Just in: from the Washington Blade.

Daniel Avila, a lawyer for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, has resigned over a column he wrote ascribing same-sex attraction to Satan. Church Lady jokes aside, Avila’s resignation reveals a great deal about the USCCB’s efforts to get religious exemptions to various federal regulations on health care and providing social services with federal money.

Avila’s apology seems more aimed at his former employers at the USCCB than to LGBTs, which says a great deal about the political priorities and goals of the USCCB.

Congressman John Lewis (D_GA), who knows a thing or two about the civil rights struggle firsthand, has joined 110 of his House colleagues in a brief opposing John Boehner‘s expensive legal defense of the Defense of Marriage Act (DODOMA).

The Obama Administration has chosen not to defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, so NOM wants the Administration to pick up costs for Boehner’s own DOMA defense team’s expenses, including their use of anti-gay junk science.

Here’s some good news — The Respect for Marriage Act (S. 598), legislation that would repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act that was enacted in 1996 will head for markup next month, according to Senator Patrick Leahy, who serves as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

According to The Advocate, Democratic lawmakers are now questioning Speaker of the House John Boehner about the phony, junk science arguments the GOP’s lawyer, Paul Clement, has been making in defense of DOMA.