Washington, D.C. — In the wake of last month’s historic Supreme Court ruling declaring Section 3 of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, Log Cabin Republicans has once again joined former Massachusetts United States Senate candidate Dan Winslow and law firm Arent Fox in an FEC advisory request demanding clarity on campaign finance laws that affect legally married same-sex couples who desire to provide financial support to political candidates from a joint bank account — a right that straight couples have and many take for granted and that the FEC previously denied while Section 3 of DOMA remained law.
The full letter to the FEC can be read at this link.
“With Section 3 of DOMA now history, important legal questions remain,” Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director Gregory T. Angelo stated. “When we filed this Advisory Opinion request in April, the FEC indicated its hands were tied by DOMA. Now, with the Supreme Court releasing those bonds, we hope the FEC comes to the just conclusion that same-sex married couples deserve the same right to freedom of speech as their straight counterparts.”
“The FEC invited me to renew my request for equal treatment of all married couples if DOMA were overturned,” said Winslow. “Consistent with our founding principles as the Party of Lincoln, I am happy to ask again for the right response.”
“The Court’s decision supports our effort at the FEC to guarantee equal rights for same-sex couples in campaigns and elections,” said Craig Engle, Partner at Arent Fox and longtime counsel for Log Cabin Republicans. Engle is a former member of the FEC legal counsel and was one of the signers of an amicus brief to the Supreme Court urging overturning DOMA on campaign finance and freedom of speech grounds which can be read at this link. The brief was signed by a number of former Federal Election Commission officials. “We lost at the FEC but won at the Supreme Court – so we are headed back to the Commission so they can reverse their decision.”