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BY EMILY ALLEN
A federal appeals court in Boston struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act — or
DOMA —ruling it unconstitutional. MSNBC reports.
“What the appeals court says is there just isn’t enough justification for this law
under the Constitution. That the law doesn’t in anyway increase benefits to opposite-sex
couples. It says basing the law on moral disapproval of same-sex couples is not enough.”
Under DOMA, a federal employee’s same-sex spouse can’t receive employment benefits
even if the state they live in recognizes same-sex marriage.
According to The Washington Post — the decision from the three-judge panel for the appeals
court affirms a lower court’s finding in 2010 that the federal-benefits part of DOMA
is unconstitutional.
There are seven prominent cases related to DOMA in courts across the U.S. right now.
A legal contributor for CNN says this decision will impact the outcome of those cases in
the lower courts’ and the highest court.
“As the circuit courts weigh in on this, if the Supreme Court starts to see a trend,
then the court is more likely to take the case for review and consider how the circuits
have looked at the issues.”
The Boston Globe said DOMA was enacted under President Clinton’s administration. At the
time, Congress was leary of a Hawaii court’s decision enabling the state to recognize same-sex
marriage.
The president of the Human Rights Campaign tells the Guardian — this is a historic
decision.
"For the first time, a federal appeals court has recognized that our constitution will
not tolerate a law that forces the federal government to deny lawfully -married same-sex
couples equal treatment. The writing is clearly on the wall for the demise of this unjust
and indefensible law that hurts real families...”
Media reports say the appeals court put a stay on its decision, which means its ruling
that same-sex married couples should be entitled to federal benefits won’t go into effect
until the Supreme Court decides the case.