WASHINGTON, D.C., July 25, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – The Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday approved legislation enabling “married” same-sex couples to seek millions in tax refunds for unions that were not previously recognized under federal tax law.
The PRIDE (Promoting Respect for Individuals' Dignity and Equality) Act removes sex-specific terms such as “husband” and “wife” from the federal tax code, and allows couples “married” while the Defense of Marriage Act (which protected states and the federal government from having to recognize same-sex “marriages” from states that chose to recognize them) to claim tax refunds for which they were ineligible.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down DOMA in 2013. The Washington Blade reported that the Joint Committee on Taxation put the estimated amount the feds could have to pay out if the bill becomes law at $67 million.
The PRIDE Act passed the House on Wednesday by voice vote, meaning lawmakers were not required to put a vote on the record. Notably, no Republican resisted. The Hill noted that New York GOP Rep. Tom Reed expressed a technical concern about the legislation but supported its core purpose to “make sure our tax code is reflective of the law of the land as it has been declared by the Supreme Court.”
“In passing the PRIDE Act, Democrats are honoring our diversity and providing long-overdue justice to countless same-sex couples across the country who have been denied critical tax refunds because of who they are and who they love,” Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared, CNN reported. She called on the Republican-controlled Senate to “quickly pass and reaffirm” the bill and its message.
Massachusetts senator and 2020 presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is spearheading the bill’s Senate counterpart. It’s not yet known whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will allow it to come up for a vote, or whether President Donald Trump, who is conservative on some LGBT issues but supports same-sex “marriage” and homosexual “pride,” would sign it into law.
“What Ms. Warren doesn’t mention to people is the IRS already allows everyone to amend the last three years of returns,” Tammy Bruce, a Fox News contributor and gay conservative, wrote last month. “Instead, she wants couples to be able to amend their tax returns for the entire time they were married in one of the 10 states allowing gay marriage prior to federal recognition. … But why stop there? What about all the gays and lesbians who never had a chance to marry at all because of the Clinton administration’s Defense of Marriage Act?
“That has to be asked because this has nothing to do with tax fairness and everything to do with reinforcing the politics of resentment and victimhood,” Bruce argued. “For the Democratic Party machine, however, there can never be success, there always has to be a new appended wrong or violation, some new campaign to convince you that victimhood will never end, and you must always resent, well, everyone.”