U.S. Reps. Robert Wexler of Delray Beach, Alcee Hastings of Miramar, Kathy Castor of Tampa and Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Pembroke Pines are among 92 House Democrats who have co-sponsored the “Respect for Marriage Act,” a bill introduced Tuesday to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. That 1996 law bars some benefits from same-sex couples.

From the South-Florida Blade:

Absent from the sponsorship of the bill is Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), an openly-gay and usually vocal proponent of GLBT rights. Both Pelosi and Frank believe the bill has little chance of passage, and prefer to implement legislation that would take gradual steps to repeal DOMA.

“Given that there is zero chance of this bill becoming law in the near future, it is a mistake to explicitly introduce this crossing state lines issue,” Frank said. “The controversy now will not be about whether we should have the federal government treat people fairly in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, etc., but whether we should export [marriage recognition] to Ohio and Florida.”

Just yesterday, a Broward County community forum with U.S. Rep. Ron Klein’s staff turned into a raucous confrontation somewhat reminiscent of the 1913 premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. And tonight, by all accounts, it happened again — this time in Tampa.

According to The Tampa Tribune:

What was supposed to be a town hall forum on President Barack Obama’s health care reform plan this evening turned instead into a shouting match, complete with shoving and scuffles.

The forum featured Tampa legislators U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor and state Rep. Betty Reed and was scheduled to start at 6 p.m. It ended about 7:15 p.m. with Castor only able to say a few words, most of which were inaudible because of the shouting from protestors.

… There were at least two scuffles between protestors trying to enter and organizers manning the doors. One of those involved in a scuffle, Randy Arthur, of Oldsmar said he was injured by those manning the doors and said he would file a police report.

He and his wife, Kathy, were outside the meeting room when organizers tried to close the doors. Randy Arthur and others tried to stop them “and he didn’t give up,” Kathy Arthur said.

Randy Arthur, who owns an air conditioning service company, later talked to police officers, his knit shirt ripped and a few scratches visible on his chest. “They slammed him into the wall,” Kathy Arthur said.

Meanwhile, a Web site used by one group of Obama critics, the Tampa 9-12 Project, has messages posted by folks who said they witnessed the mayhem:

“Freedom loving patriots celebrated liberty by knocking down a disabled woman and starting a fist fight with someone. I feel sorry for the people who went there to learn, whether it was to support or criticize. Too bad they weren’t allowed to speak.”