Oregon Public Broadcasting

As Congress looks at possibly repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, Earl Blumenauer says he regrets supporting it 13 years ago.

The Defense of Marriage Act defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.  It was passed in 1996 as a counter to people in states like Hawaii mounting efforts to legalize same-sex marriage.

Oregon congressman Earl Blumenauer says looking back, he voted based on strategy not substance.

Earl Blumenauer: “I felt uncomfortable because of the political calculation that I made in terms of trying to just stop this nonsense, these anti-gay initiatives. And I thought mistakenly that doing this would allow us to get beyond it.”

Blumenauer says he’ll vote for legislation that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, introduced in Congress this week.

He says there’s also growing momentum aimed at getting rid of the military’s "don’t ask don’t tell" policy on gays and lesbians.