Obama administration to stop defending DOMA
Wow… Statement of the Attorney General on Litigation Involving the Defense of Marriage Act.
From the Attorney General:
After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny. The President has also concluded that Section 3 of DOMA, as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional. Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute in such cases. I fully concur with the President’s determination.
ETA: JMG is maintaining a list of reactions with ongoing updates to the DOMA announcement here.
(Now I’m waiting for the freakout from the hate groups - this should be good. Pass the popcorn.)
ETA II: Potential good news for California: first fallout from above announcement? AFER Asks U.S. Court of Appeals to Lift the Stay on Marriage [in CA] for Gay and Lesbian Couples.
Originally published at What's that you said?. You can comment here or there.