Federal DOMA ruled unconstitutional by fed appeals
EvanKeel
Posts: 1,904 Member
Onto the supreme court!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/31/doma-unconstitutional-ruling-appeals-court-boston_n_1559031.html
It looks like the ruling is more focused on states where federal benefits are being denied when a same-sex marriage is legal in a specific state. But it's something.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/31/doma-unconstitutional-ruling-appeals-court-boston_n_1559031.html
It looks like the ruling is more focused on states where federal benefits are being denied when a same-sex marriage is legal in a specific state. But it's something.
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Every step counts!0
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It's an important ruling. The core of the law is the problem and I'm glad they knocked it down. Assuming it holds at the Supreme Court, it helps define us as a "class" that can't be discriminated against. That should help down the line in overturning state bans.0
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it's an important step. bring on the next hurdle, i still have feeling in my petition-signing hand.0
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The only part of DOMA that is being challenged in the current court cases, including this one in the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, is Section 3 - the part that says the federal government can't recognize marriages of same sex couples. Therefore, the lawsuits all involve couples who are (or were, in the case of widows/widowers) considered married in the state in which they reside.
As such, these cases don't challenge state laws that restrict marriage to different sex couples. There are other cases doing that, just not the DOMA cases.
The significance of this case -- or really, set of cases -- out of Massachusetts is that this is the first time DOMA has been held unconstitutional by an Appeals Court. Prior to this, all the rulings have come from federal district courts, the lowest level court in the federal system.0 -
The only part of DOMA that is being challenged in the current court cases, including this one in the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, is Section 3 - the part that says the federal government can't recognize marriages of same sex couples. Therefore, the lawsuits all involve couples who are (or were, in the case of widows/widowers) considered married in the state in which they reside.
As such, these cases don't challenge state laws that restrict marriage to different sex couples. There are other cases doing that, just not the DOMA cases.
The significance of this case -- or really, set of cases -- out of Massachusetts is that this is the first time DOMA has been held unconstitutional by an Appeals Court. Prior to this, all the rulings have come from federal district courts, the lowest level court in the federal system.
And yet, given that I'm in WA and waiting to see whether or not my marriage will become legal in November, I'm curious to know when I can stop doing ridiculous things to my income taxes because of DOMA
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Drip, drip, drip.0
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Today, the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) filed a notice of appeal in Windsor v. USA, the case that was just decided a couple of days ago. This is the formal notice to the district court that issued the opinion that BLAG is appealing the ruling to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. BLAG is the group from the U.S. House of Representatives that has hired outside counsel to defend DOMA in these cases following the Dept. of Justice's notification that it will no longer defend DOMA in court.
This will be the first time that a DOMA case has reached the appeals level in this circuit. I'm looking forward to another defeat for DOMA and it won't be long now (at least by litigation standards) before these cases finally reach the Supreme Court.0
