Court rules that Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional

Josh Gerstein
POLITICO 44

Gay-rights advocates scored a major victory Thursday as a federal judge in Boston ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act — a measure Congress passed in 1996 to prevent the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage — is unconstitutional.

Judge Joseph Tauro said the federal government essentially had no business seeking to regulate marriage rules, which he said have traditionally been the exclusive province of the states.

“The government’s argument assumes that Congress has some interest in a uniform definition of marriage for purposes of determining federal rights, benefits, and privileges. There is no such interest,” Tauro wrote in ruling on a pair of lawsuits challenging the anti-gay marriage law known as DOMA.

“Importantly, the passage of DOMA marks the first time that the federal government has ever attempted to legislatively mandate a uniform federal definition of marriage–or any other core concept of domestic relations, for that matter.”

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