After many prominent democrats voted against a provision in the immigration bill that would have recognized same-sex marriages, I noted that Senator Feinstein was hoping SCOTUS would bail them out.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein cited Graham’s comments, then, saying, “I think this sounds like the fairest approach, but here’s the problem … we know this is going to blow the agreement apart. I don’t want to blow this bill apart.”
She cited the fact that the Supreme Court could strike down the Defense of Marriage Act provision that prevents same-sex couples from having equal immigration rights. She also noted the a bill to repeal DOMA is holding in the Senate, concluding, “I would just implore to hold up on this amendment at this time.”
Dick Durbin had hoped that that the Court would resolve the issue during the markup process.
Sen. Dick Durbin had optimistically raised the possibility last month that the Supreme Court would take the hot potato amendment off the table before the markup and amendment process was finished. “If they reach a decision while we’re in the process of markup, it may resolve the issue,” Durbin said,according to The Hill.
But this didn’t happen. Now, with the markup coming in July, many hope SCOTUS will just fix this problem.
A decision in the DOMA case is expected by the end of June. Senators are hoping to vote on the full immigration reform bill in early July. . . .
Liberal-leaning groups that support immigration reform are also hoping the issue will be taken off the table by the court.
“We’re hopeful that the issue will be solved by the Supreme Court,” said Ben Monterroso, an immigration reform advocate at the Service Employees International Union. “We expect the Supreme Court is going to do the right thing so it’s not going to be an issue.”