Politics & Government
Sen. Paul Wellstone's DOMA Vote Recalled as Law Falls
The U.S. senator from Northfield was later troubled by his vote in support of the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.
Updated below. The U.S. Supreme Court decision Wednesday to strike down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) barring gay couples from federal recognition has stirred up memories of Northfield's most famous resident's support for DOMA.
Minnesota Public Radio included Wellstone's DOMA vote in a report Thursday about how the state's politicians have dealt with the issue of same-sex marriage:
When it came time to vote, Wellstone joined 84 other senators to support DOMA, a sign of the perceived political danger of supporting gay marriage.
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"I think that's a vote that he always regretted," DFL Sen. Al Franken said of the late senator. Franken now occupies Wellstone's Senate seat and uses his former desk in his office.
See and hear the full report at minnesota.publicradio.org.
Wellstone wrote about his DOMA vote and later misgivings in his autobiographical book, The Conscience of a Liberal: Reclaiming the Compassionate Agenda (published in 2001, a year before his untimely death):
"What troubles me is that I may not have cast the right vote on DOMA. I might have rationalized my vote by making myself believe that my honest position was opposition. This vote was an obvious trap for a senator like me, who was up for reelection. Did I convince myself that I could gleefully deny Republicans this opportunity? After all, the Supreme Court of Hawaii had not made a decision in its pending case, and there certainly was no danger that other states or the federal government were about to pass legislation supporting same-sex marriage. This was all political.
"When Sheila and I attended a Minnesota memorial service for Mathew Shepard, I thought to myself, 'Have I taken a position that contributed to a climate of hatred?' Of course, I never believed this when I voted for DOMA. But if you deny people who are in a stable, loving relationship the right to marry, do you deny them their humanity? I still wonder if I did the right thing."
Update: Dave and Mark Wellstone, sons of Paul and Sheila Wellstone, wrote a letter to friends of the organization Wellstone Action that also referenced their father's vote on DOMA:
On a brisk fall day in 1996, 85 United State Senators, including our dad, Paul Wellstone, voted to pass the Defense of Marriage Actthat limited the definition of marriage. Our dad spent a career in the Senate making one principled and courageous vote after another.This was an exception. Dad spent a lot of time reflecting, soul-searching, and apologizing about that vote. ...
By 2002, groups like the Human Rights Campaign gave him a 100% rating for his votes in the Senate. In our dad’s journey, we see hope for a sustained movement: changing hearts, shaping policy, and effecting change, one person, one community, and onedecision at a time.
Read the full letter here.
See and hear the full report at minnesota.publicradio.org.
Wellstone wrote about his DOMA vote and later misgivings in his autobiographical book, The Conscience of a Liberal: Reclaiming the Compassionate Agenda (published in 2001, a year before his untimely death):
"What troubles me is that I may not have cast the right vote on DOMA. I might have rationalized my vote by making myself believe that my honest position was opposition. This vote was an obvious trap for a senator like me, who was up for reelection. Did I convince myself that I could gleefully deny Republicans this opportunity? After all, the Supreme Court of Hawaii had not made a decision in its pending case, and there certainly was no danger that other states or the federal government were about to pass legislation supporting same-sex marriage. This was all political.
"When Sheila and I attended a Minnesota memorial service for Mathew Shepard, I thought to myself, 'Have I taken a position that contributed to a climate of hatred?' Of course, I never believed this when I voted for DOMA. But if you deny people who are in a stable, loving relationship the right to marry, do you deny them their humanity? I still wonder if I did the right thing."
Update: Dave and Mark Wellstone, sons of Paul and Sheila Wellstone, wrote a letter to friends of the organization Wellstone Action that also referenced their father's vote on DOMA:
On a brisk fall day in 1996, 85 United State Senators, including our dad, Paul Wellstone, voted to pass the Defense of Marriage Actthat limited the definition of marriage. Our dad spent a career in the Senate making one principled and courageous vote after another.This was an exception. Dad spent a lot of time reflecting, soul-searching, and apologizing about that vote. ...
By 2002, groups like the Human Rights Campaign gave him a 100% rating for his votes in the Senate. In our dad’s journey, we see hope for a sustained movement: changing hearts, shaping policy, and effecting change, one person, one community, and onedecision at a time.
Read the full letter here.
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