DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, suffered a major blow today when the Obama administration declared it will no longer defend the constitutionality of a portion of it in court.
Section three of DOMA specifically limits marriage to one man and one woman, as it applies to federal law. Given that there are currently states that have legal same sex marriage…
“The President has also concluded that Section 3 of DOMA, as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard [of stricter judicial review] and is therefore unconstitutional,” Holder said. “Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute in such cases.”
Attorney General Eric Holder added…
…that laws affecting the rights of gays and lesbians should be held to a stricter standard of judicial review—the result of a “documented history of discrimination” against LGBT individuals. Holder cited the recent repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” as well as lower court decisions against DOMA and the landmark 2003 case Lawrence v. Texas — in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unconsitutional state sodomy laws — as chapter and verse of the evolving legal landscape.
CLICK HERE to read the entire letter from the Dept of Justice to the Speaker of the House. I urge you to read the letter, in which Holder set forth a strong argument for full equality of LGBT Americans.
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