In gay rights victory, Obama administration won't defend Defense of Marriage Act

[madinmaryland]

The Obama administration announced Wednesday that it will no longer defend the constitutionality of the federal government's ban on recognizing same-sex marriages, a rare legal reversal and the latest in a series of political victories for gay rights activists.

The Justice Department had appealed the decision of a federal judge in Massachusetts who struck down the Defense of Marriage Act in July, saying it was obligated to defend federal statutes. The 1996 law defines marriage from the federal perspective as between a man and a woman, which means same-sex married couples are denied access to marriage-based federal benefits.

In an extraordinary change, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said Wednesday that he and President Obama had determined - after an extensive review - that the law's key section is unconstitutional. "Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute" in court, Holder said in a statement.

Administration officials said the review was triggered by a court-imposed filing deadline in two new legal challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act, filed in federal courts in New York and Connecticut.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/23/AR2011022303428.html?hpid=topnews

[readmoreoften]

1. Sometimes the pushes from below force action. Great news!

[madinmaryland]

2. What seems odd is that they had to do an "extensive review" to determine

the law was un-constitutional.

:wtf:

Denying someone their rights IS unconstitutional.

[justiceischeap]

3. They could have been doing an "extensive review" to determine

that if they didn't fight it that it would be overturned by the courts. I've complained about how slowly Obama has been taking to push his gay rights initiatives but it seems as though he's being doing it with a lot of forethought making it tougher for (R)s to bitch about it and possibly fight it.