Libertarian Nominee Bob Barr Now Opposes DOMA

Libertarian Party nominee for president Bob Barr announced that he would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act if he were elected to the White House, according to a speech he delivered at the party's convention on May 25.

"The Defense of Marriage Act insofar has provided the federal government a club to club down rights of law-abiding American citizens, has been abused, misused, and should be repealed, and I will work to repeal it," he said on Sunday.

Barr, 59, authored DOMA in 1996 as a Republican congressman for Georgia's seventh district. In a statement about his support for the California supreme court's recent ruling to allow same-sex marriage, Barr said his original intent in authoring DOMA was to ensure that each state determine whether to legalize same-sex marriage.

"Regardless of whether one supports or opposes same sex-marriage, the decision to recognize such unions or not ought to be a power each state exercises on its own, rather than imposition of a one-size-fits-all mandate by the federal government -- as would be required by a Federal Marriage Amendment, which has been previously proposed and considered by the Congress," he said in the May 25 statement. "The decision today by the supreme court of California properly reflects this fundamental principle of federalism on which our nation was founded."

Barr was first elected to Congress in 1994, serving four terms in a district north of Atlanta. He also played a key role in President Bill Clinton's impeachment hearings. He was defeated in 2002 after district lines were redrawn, forcing him to run against John Linder, a popular fellow Republican, according to TheWashington Post.

The Libertarian National Committee's convention took place in Denver, the site of the upcoming Democratic convention this August. More than 650 delegates gathered to choose the candidate in a six-round voting procedure on Sunday afternoon. Barr beat out Mary Ruwart, a research scientist, in the final round. The vote was 324–276, according to the Post. Barr also won over former Democratic presidential nominee Mike Gravel, who left the Democratic Party over dissatisfaction about his lack of coverage by the media as compared to that of other Democratic candidates. Gravel, along with former hopeful and Ohio representative Dennis Kucinich, were the only two vying for the Democratic ticket who fully endorsed federal rights for married same-sex couples.

"I just ended my political career," Gravel said to the Post. "From 15 years old to now, my political career is over, and it's no big deal. I'm a writer, I'm a lecturer, I'm going to push the issues of freedom and liberty. I'm going to push those issues until the day I die." (The Advocate)