State of Mass. Sues feds over definition of marriage

[keepCAblue]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090708/ap_on_re_us/us_gay_marriage

BOSTON – Massachusetts, the first state to legalize gay marriage, sued the U.S. government Wednesday over a federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

The federal Defense of Marriage Act interferes with the right of Massachusetts to define and regulate marriage as it sees fit, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said. The 1996 law denies federal recognition of gay marriage and gives states the right to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boston, argues the act "constitutes an overreaching and discriminatory federal law."

Specifically, the lawsuit challenges the section of the law that creates a federal definition of marriage as limited to a union between one man and one woman.

Before the law was passed, Coakley said, the federal government recognized that defining marital status was the "exclusive prerogative of the states." Now, because of the U.S. law's definition of marriage, same-sex couples are denied access to benefits given to heterosexual married couples, including federal income tax credits, employment benefits, retirement benefits, health insurance coverage and Social Security payments.

"In enacting DOMA, Congress overstepped its authority, undermined states' efforts to recognize marriages between same-sex couples, and codified an animus towards gay and lesbian people," the lawsuit states.

The Defense of Marriage Act was enacted when it appeared Hawaii would soon legalize same-sex marriages and opponents worried that other states would be forced to recognize them. It defines marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife" and defines "spouse" as "a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife."

President Barack Obama has pledged to work to repeal the law, although gay rights activists criticized the administration last month after Justice Department lawyers defended it in a court brief. White House aides said they were doing their jobs to support a law that is on the books.

Besides Massachusetts, five other states — Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Iowa — have legalized gay marriage.

This is the second lawsuit filed in Massachusetts challenging the law.

In March, the Boston-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders claimed the law discriminates against gay couples and is unconstitutional because it denies them access to federal benefits that other married couples receive, such as health insurance and pensions.

[GodlessBiker]

1. Woohoo!!!

[allanrbrts]

11. bad news

This is way too soon. The Supreme Court is not in the position to rule in favor of same-sex marriage. As it currently stands the Court would decide against us. We must work through the state level and garner more support before taken it to the Supreme Court.

Remember, once the Court makes a decision, it's law and would be hard to be overturned. We must know for sure the Court will decide in our favor before presenting it to them.

[RDANGELO]

2. The tenth amendment

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.


Since the constitution states nothing about marriage, the states have the right to regulate it, and they way they define that right has to be respected by the other states.

This is going to be interesting.

[Zenlitened]

3. Massachusetts, leading the way on equality!

:applause:

[katandmoon]

4. GO MASSACHUSETTS!

[TheWraith]

5. FYI, this is a much bigger deal than that suit against Prop 8 filed in CA.

Quick note, I think you're running afoul of the copyright rules on this post.

Anyway: the state of MA has much better standing to directly challenge the federal government on this subject, as well as bypassing any difficulties establishing 14th Amendment protections. This is substantially more likely to suceed than the lawsuit in CA is.

[ShadowLiberal]

6. About time we attack DOMA in the courts

I've always said through the courts is the way to strike down DOMA at this point, there's just too few states that have legalized gay marriage for congress have the guts to do something like this.

[MNBrewer]

8. I suppose the Obama Administration will be "obligated" to defend it.

[TheWraith]

7. Come on people, kick it.

This is a very big deal. Do we have to have some Obama bashing or something to get a discussion going around here? :P

[NMMNG]

9. Yay Massachusetts!

:applause:

[RetiredTrotskyite]

10. Good to Hear!

Would have been nice if the balless wonder in the White House would have at least commented on this before Mass. showed him what real MEN AND WOMEN are like!