Obama Camp Paints Clinton as Backing 'Symbolic Insult' to Gays

Aug. 11, 2007 — -- Sen. Hillary Clinton's, D-N.Y., opposition to completely repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was painted as a "symbolic insult" to gays by a top adviser to Sen. Barack Obama's, D-Ill., presidential campaign during a Friday interview with ABC News.

"The federal statute books shouldn't be filled with symbolic insults to part of the population," said Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe. "I guess Hillary Clinton may have a complicated set of agendas here because many people were troubled when her husband as president signed DOMA."

Tribe, who taught Obama constitutional law at Harvard and appears in one of his presidential campaign ads, called ABC News at the request of the Obama campaign and offered his criticism of the former first lady's position one day after Clinton and Obama took part in a forum sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign. While both candidates oppose legalizing same-sex marriage, the two Democrats are sharply at odds on whether they would completely repeal DOMA.

The 1996 law, approved by former President Bill Clinton, has two key components: One stipulates that no state need recognize a marriage between persons of the same sex, even if the marriage was recognized in another state; the other prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages for any purpose, even if recognized by one of the states.

During Thursday's gay rights forum in Los Angeles, Clinton reiterated her support for repealing the portion of DOMA that pertains to federal benefits.

"I want to repeal Sec. 3 of DOMA, which stands in the way of the extension of benefits to people in committed same-sex marriages, and, you know, I will be very strongly in favor of doing that as president," said Clinton at Thursday's forum.

Clinton, however, opposes repealing the full statute.