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Washington, D.C. — The long-awaited bill that would repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) will be introduced Tuesday, its sponsor New York Representative Jerrold Nadler announced Friday.

The bill will be unveiled at a press event Tuesday, September 15 at the House Triangle, an outdoor venue near the southern steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C.

DOMA, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton 13 years ago on September 21, defines marriage as a heterosexual union for federal agencies and allows states to ignore gay marriages performed by other states.

Nadler, a Democrat, is expected to be accompanied by an army of GLBT leaders, including Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, Kevin Cathcart, executive director of Lambda Legal, Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, Alan Van Capelle, executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda, Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel of the ACLU, and Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Openly gay legislators Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin and Colorado Congressman Jared Polis are also expected to attend.

The law has been under intense fire since President Obama's Department of Justice defended the law in a California lawsuit that aimed to overturn the statute. That suit has since been dismissed on a technicality, but petitioners have vowed to refile their challenge.

Nevertheless, the perception that Obama was all tongue and no trousers on gay and lesbian rights was damaging to the president who had pledged during the campaign he would work to repeal the law.

"Married gay and lesbian couples pay taxes, serve their communities, and raise children like other couples," Nadler's advisory on the bill said. "Their contributions and needs are no different from those of their neighbors. The new legislation will ensure that couples who assume the serious legal duties of marriage are treated fairly under federal law."

How far the bill will go is the real question. For example, some gay activists have suggested the bill might simply recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples for the purposes of the federal government, giving gay couples access to federal benefits such as Social Security and federal pensions, but leave in place those provisions that allow states to ignore gay marriages performed outside their borders.

"The specifics of this legislation will be announced on Tuesday," the advisory said.

Article provided in partnership with On Top Magazine

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