Federal District Judge Rules Defense of Marriage Act Unconstitutional

BOSTON - A federal judge in Boston yesterday struck down a major section of the 14 year old federal Defense of Marriage Act declaring it unconstitutional to deny financial benefits to same-sex married couples. U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Tauro had two cases before him; both of which challenged section three of the 1996 measure. Referred to as DOMA the bill mandates that only heterosexual married couples are eligible for federal health and other benefits. In his ruling Thursday Tauro said DOMA’s denial of federal benefits to same-sex couples in effect creates a separate class of people violating the equal protection clause of the US Constitution. A year ago seven same-sex married couples and three individuals whose spouses had died filed their case arguing they were entitled to the same protections as other married couples. Massachusetts has had legally recognized marriages - the first state in the nation to do so - for same-sex couples since 2004. This change in law followed a 5 to 4 decision by the state Supreme Judicial Court. President Obama previously has said he thinks the DOMA is discriminatory and should be repealed. But earlier this year Justice Department lawyers arguing on behalf of the federal Office of Personnel Management said the government had legitimate interest in trying to preserve marriage as a heterosexual institution. In his ruling Judge Tauro countered that he found no basis for the idea that denying benefits to same-sex couples makes heterosexual marriages more secure. As expected gay rights groups cheered the decision while oppositon organizations criticized Tauro as an “activist judge.” Legal scholars on both sides of the issue say appeals of the decision are likely to reach the U.S. Supreme Court. This article is a news brief. Bookmark/Search this post with: Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Newsvine Facebook Google Yahoo Technorati