Barney Frank NOT signing on as co-sponsor of DOMA Repeal Bill

Apparently, Rep. Barney Frank, considered the most influential gay congressman, is not signing on to the DOMA Repeal bill due to his "strategic differences" with supporters of the bill. From the Washington Blade:

Frank said in an interview Friday with the Blade that he's not a co-sponsor of the legislation because he has a "strategic difference" with people supporting the repeal legislation.

"It's not anything that's achievable in the near term," he said. "I think getting [the Employment Non-Discrimination Act], a repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' and full domestic partner benefits for federal employees will take up all of what we can do and maybe more in this Congress."

Frank also said that advocacy for the "certainty provision," as described by Nadler, would create "political problems" in Congress.

"The provision that says you can take your benefits as you travel, I think, will stir up unnecessary opposition with regard to the question of are you trying to export it to other states," he said. "If we had a chance to pass that, it would be a different story, but I don't think it's a good idea to rekindle that debate when there's no chance of passage in the near term."

It's not the first time Rep Frank expressed pessimism on LGBT bills. He had made very similar comments on the Uniting American Families Act, saying that Congress is not ready for it.

Basically he advocates doing things the old way: bread crumbs here and bread crumbs there. Anything beyond that is way too ambitious.

In fact, he believes DOMA Repeal's best hope lies with the lawsuits filed by several organizations, such as GLAD and the State of Massechussetts:

Frank said the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders lawsuit against DOMA, Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, stands a better shot of overturning DOMA than congressional action. The lawsuit specifically targets the portion of DOMA that prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

"That's very thoughtful, very well done," Frank said. "That's the way we'll win this."

Keep in mind GLAD doesn't expect the Supreme Court to consider their case until the year 2013, which is a loooooong time.

Now, Rep. Frank is often considered to have the best knowledge of the inner workings of Congress and I respect him for what he has accomplished for the community. But times have changed and it's time to do things differently. Rep. Nadler said it best:

Mr. Frank knows better than anyone that our opponents will falsely claim that any DOMA repeal bill 'exports marriage' in an effort to generate fear and misunderstanding," Nadler said. "But the dishonest tactics of our opponents should not stop us from aggressively pushing to end this horrific discrimination now, as is the consensus of the nation's top LGBT groups who all support this approach.