Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy has announced that the fist Senate hearing on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) will begin on Wednesday, July 20.  An update on the committee website states:

OFFICIAL HEARING NOTICE / WITNESS LIST:

July 12, 2011

NOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing entitled “S.598, The Respect for Marriage Act: Assessing the Impact of DOMA on American Families” for Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

By order of the Chairman.

The hearing will be webcast live on the Senate Judiciary Committee website.

A statement from Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) president, says, “The federal government shouldn’t be in the business of picking which marriages it likes and which it doesn’t, but that’s exactly what DOMA does.  With New York soon joining the other five states and DC that treat all couples equally, the federal government needs to level the playing field for all families.  We thank Sens. Leahy, Feinstein and Gillibrand for their leadership in ending federal marriage discrimination as well as Rep. Nadler for his advocacy in the House.  We look forward to continuing to work with them on this upcoming hearing and until all marriages are treated equally in the eyes of the law.”