WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) today signed an amicus brief filed in the United States Supreme Court in U.S. v. Edith Schlain Windsor, a challenge to Section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA. A total of 40 Senators and 172 members of the House signed onto the brief.

“To me, repeal of DOMA is an issue of fairness.  Under DOMA, committed relationships legally recognized by some states are made financially and legally unequal in many ways:  taxes, inheritance, insurance benefits, and a thousand other rights and benefits that the federal government routinely grants to other married couples. I am proud to lend my name to the amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to reverse this discriminatory law. Marriage equality now receives growing bipartisan support, and DOMA repeal is supported by a significant number of leading U.S. businesses, who correctly believe that DOMA represents an impediment to economic competitiveness.”

In 2005, Sen. Warner was the first Virginia Governor to ban employment discrimination based upon sexual orientation within state government. In 2006, he spoke out and campaigned against passage of a proposed marriage amendment to the Virginia constitution. In 2011, Sen. Warner voted to repeal the U.S. Defense Department’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” restrictions on gay and lesbian servicemembers.

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