A letter to Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA) 18th District

(Inspired by reading this article.)

I am appalled and aghast at the idea that $1.5 million has just been contracted to Paul Clement to continue to defend DOMA.

I feel as strongly about DOMA as I imagine supporters of the Hyde Amendment feel about Roe v. Wade.  If the act of engaging in a woman’s right to choose cannot be funded by federal tax dollars (which is fundamentally a question of morality), then I am perplexed by the idea that the Defense of Marriage Act, which I find to be fundamentally immoral, is being supported by federal tax dollars.  Is your (or the general conservative) perspective on abortions morally superior to my belief that discriminating against homosexuals is wrong?  I understand that the Hyde Amendment is what specifically prohibits federal dollars from being used to fund abortions and that there is no such amendment in relation to DOMA, but I think the disparity between the two is apparent.  If a group of people can decide that one lawful activity that they oppose (abortions) cannot be supported by federal funds, why should another lawful activity that I oppose (discrimination against homosexuals) be supported so extensively?

I respect the idea that the things federal tax dollars are spent on is agreed upon by consensus of Congress as part of the larger social contract American society, but I think that if one group of people can impose their morals on society by deeming what can and cannot be supported by federal money, then all similarly morality-based perspectives should be given the same privilege.

Additionally, I think you and your fellow congressional representatives should keep in mind that cutting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security because of the current economic climate means that you are punishing the larger portions of the American people because of an economic recession that they did not create.  I’ve always been taught that solutions to problems should focus on what caused the problem and not some nearby object that makes a good target.

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