Gay couples blast federal Defense of Marriage Act

[WillParkinson]

Gay couples blast federal Defense of Marriage Act

(Boston) Gay married couples suing the government over a federal law that doesn’t recognize same-sex unions say there is “no legitimate or plausible” reason for having a federal definition of marriage that excludes gay couples.

The lawsuit was brought by seven gay couples and three widowers, all of whom were married in Massachusetts after it became the first state in the country to legalize gay marriage in 2004.

In court documents filed Tuesday, the couples say the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution because it denies them access to federal benefits given to other married couples, including pensions, health insurance and the ability to file joint tax returns. They argue that the law “eviscerates” the historic power of the states to establish criteria for marriage.

“DOMA marks a stark, and unique, departure from the respect and recognition the federal government has long afforded to State marital status determinations,” lawyers for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders argue in a written response to the U.S. Department of Justice motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

http://www.365gay.com/news/gay-couples-blast-federal-defense-of-marriage-act/

[TheWraith]

1. Wrong tack to take for a legal argument.

Claiming that the states have the right to set standards for marriage also means that knuckle-drag states can set standards that don't allow gays to get married, surrendering the power of the US constitution in this fight. It also runs contrary to a lot of established legal precedent. And Equal Protection argument is the way to go.

[sui generis]

2. I agree but there should still be a nod to the dissonance

The fact is that the use of DOMA effectively removes from some Americans the right to establish a legal family unit, and thereby removes from some Americans the right to effectively manage their assets and dispose of their estates to next of kin as defined in a marital unit.

It allows the states to inconsistently recognize marriage, and thereby endanger a legally recognized family unit. My kiddos could be taken from me at a traffic stop in Jackson, MS because I'm not allowed to be their legal guardian in that state.

The legislature is CHOCK full of third rate lawyers, including wannabe constitutional lawyers such as Obama, who couldn't get or keep a job in the real world, and who don't connect consequence to law to federal governance.