President Obama, in a major legal policy shift, has directed
the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of
Marriage Act - the 1996 law that bars federal recognition of
same-sex marriages - against lawsuits challenging it as
unconstitutional.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Wednesday sent a
letter to Congress to inform them that the Justice Department
will now take the position in court that the Defense of
Marriage Act should be struck down as a violation of gay
couples' rights to equal protection under the law.
"The President and I have concluded that classifications
based on sexual orientation warrant heightened scrutiny and
that, as applied to same-sex couples legally married under
state law" a crucial provision of the Defense of Marriage Act
is unconstitutional, Mr. Holder wrote.
Read more at NYT
4 comments:
Yes, yes, yes! For gay marriages to get real rights at the federal level, DOMA has to go! Yay! Just when I was losing faith in Obama, he pulls a DADT repeal and now this. :)
I feel like he's tired of having to deal with Republican bullshit...or possibly he knows he'll need us in the coming election.
Yup, I think he's finally realized that hardcore Republican voters won't vote for him any way, better to shore up the liberal base at least. This was he gets to say he worked against DOMA without having gone on record of initiating legislative repeal. Some waffling on his part to be sure, but beats doing nothing.
Meh, I expect waffling from my politicians anymore - it's kinda the norm. I wouldn't know what to do if they actually exhibited conviction. ;)
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