Justice Departments stops supporting DOMA

The Defense of Marriage Act, also called DOMA, will not any longer be defended by the United States Department of Justice in court. Same sex marriage at the federal level is governed by DOMA, which states that the federal government does not recognize same sex marriages. The Attorney General and the president have each concluded that the law is unconstitutional.

Unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act, White House and Justice Department determine

ABC states the lawsuits that are about the Defense of Marriage Act, or Defense of Marriage Act, will not be pursued by the Department of Justice anymore, the Attorney General told Congress. DOMA, passed in 1996, mandates that states and territories of the United States do not have to recognize a same-sex marriage, regardless of whether the same-sex marriage was legally executed. When it comes to the government, marriage is legally defined as a union between a man and a woman with Section 3 of Defense of Marriage Act which is why the act is objected. President Obama agrees with what Attorney General Holder believes. It is unconstitutional to have Section 3 of DOMA.

Better attention can be paid

Because of the lawsuits Pedersen v. OPM and Windsor v. United States, Defense of Marriage Act was something the government had to choose to uphold or not. Both challenge Section 3 on constitutional grounds in court districts that lack previous cases regarding homosexual marriage, in accordance with the NY Times. The cases were reviewed by the Justice Department. "Rational basis" and "heightened scrutiny" was used to do so. The reason for a "rational basis" test is to see if a law has no logical reason. This is done on constitutionally legal laws. A “heightened scrutiny” test is to determine whether an unconstitutional law serves a legitimate governmental purpose. It is discriminatory to have the homosexual marriage law, the White House and Justice Department suggested. This makes it unconstitutional because there is no government reason to do so that is legitimate.

Defense of Marriage Act is nevertheless there

The DOMA law hasn't been repealed even though the Justice Department refuses to pursue any more lawsuits. For now, the Defense of Marriage Act and Section 3 are each in impact. President Obama explained that he is constitutionally mandated to keep legislation upheld to a certain extent even though he feels it is a "flawed" act. Obama can order the Justice Department to review legislation in court though.

Citations

ABC

blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/02/president-obama-instructs-justice-department-to-stop-defending-defense-of-marriage-act-calls-clinton.html

NY Times

nytimes.com/2011/02/24/us/24marriage.html

Justice.gov

justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/February/11-ag-223.html