BREAKING NEWS -- DOMA ruled unconstitutional by NY Appeals Court

[malasadas.livejournal.com]

The Federal Appeals Court in NY has ruled that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act violates equal protection of the law and is unconstitutional. This makes the second appeals level court in the nation to do so, joining the Boston court from last year.

My take: Good. Argue all you want about whether or not states can or cannot bar same sex couples from receiving marriage licenses in their states, but DOMA is a terrible law that discriminates at the federal level against couples who are legally married in the states that DO have same sex marriage and which allows states that recognize heterosexual marriage licenses as valid across state lines to not recognize those marriages when they are from same sex couples. That's completely against the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution -- an act of Congress should not be allowed to just let states pick and choose what "public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state." they respect.

Comments

[cheezyfish.livejournal.com]

I don't really understand this argument at all. Gay couples are completely capable and often more qualified to have children than their heterosexual counterparts. It seems to me that this is more of an argument for same-sex marriage, rather than against.

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

There's a dishonesty to the positions taken by the religious extremists like the lawyer who wrote this - the argument they won't lay out there is the one where they don't have to see/think about/have to explain to their children, icky gays and how they can raise families without society destroying itself. Which challenges conservative religious viewpoints.