San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim said the Pledge of Alliance for the first time at the start of today’s board meeting in what she said was a response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling last month to strike down the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
Kim made headlines early in her tenure as supervisor, which began in 2011, for standing during the pledge but refusing to say the words.
She said she took issue with the phrase “liberty and justice for all,” but changed her thinking after the Supreme Court ruling on June 26 that found unconstitutional the law that prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.
“DOMA was one of the pieces of legislation that I felt symbolized that inequity,” Kim said.
She said she made the decision following long discussions with her staff and said she would continue saying the pledge moving forward.
Kim posted on Twitter following the pledge, “Today I pledge allegiance. #postDOMAisdead.”
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
