Blumenthal Applauds DHS Decision to Reconsider Citizenship Petitions Previously Denied Because Of DOMA

(Hartford, CT) – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) applauded the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) decision to reconsider U.S. citizenship petitions filed by binational, same-sex couples that were previously denied because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Last week, Blumenthal urged DHS to reconsider these petitions in light of the Supreme Court’s decision last month to strike down Section 3 of DOMA.

“Reconsidering the petitions of same-sex couples is the right thing to do as a matter of law and humanitarian justice. Today’s announcement will spare these couples the legal limbo that ensnares them and the cost and time of re-applying. I thank DHS for heeding my call, and I will continue to fight for marriage equality and other civil liberties. More vital work should be done forthwith to end vestiges of DOMA's discriminatory regime.”