Carney reiterates Obama’s support for DOMA repeal

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney (Blade photo by Michael Key)

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney on Thursday reiterated President Obama supports legislative repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and believes the statute is “unnecessary and unfair.”

Carney made the remarks in response to a question from the Huffington Post’s Sam Stein over whether the president would support legislation in the 112th Congress that would repeal DOMA.

“The president has long believed that DOMA — the Defense of Marriage Act — is an unnecessary and unfair law,” Carney said. “He support repeal of the law. As for its constitutionality, obviously he made clear his views on that in the decision he made that was announced yesterday. But he does support the repeal, yes.”

On Wednesday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) announced their intent to introduce such legislation in their respective chambers of Congress. The announcements were made in the wake of the Obama administration’s decision to no longer defend DOMA in court.

No such legislation has ever before been introduced in the Senate. In the House, Nadler introduced the Respect for Marriage Act in the previous Congress, but the bill saw neither a hearing or a vote.

A partial transcript of the exchange follows:

Huffington Post: A different topic. Following yesterday’s decision by the Department of Justice to drop its defense of DOMA — members of Congress have reintroduced legislation that would overturn the law. Considering the administration now has the position is unconstitutional, will we be expecting support from the president for these pieces of legislation to make the inoperative?

Jay Carney: The president has long believed that DOMA — the Defense of Marriage Act — is an unnecessary and unfair law. He supports repeal of the law. As for its constitutionality, obviously he made clear his views on that in the decision he made that was announced yesterday. But he does support the repeal, yes.