Joining the list of those asking the U. S. Supreme Court to uphold the Court of Appeals ruling that found the Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA") is Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (pictured at right). Among other things Coakley sites DOMA's invalidity under the Equal Protection Clause and the long history of the federal law honoring the marriage laws of states. DOMA destroys this precedent in how it treats Massachusetts and other states that allow same sex marriage. As noted many times on this blog, when the Christianist lies and untruths are stripped away, the only justification for DOMA boils down to giving anti-gay Christianist religious views special rights that trump the religious freedom and equal protection rights of LGBT citizens and gay friendly states. Here are highlights of coverage from Reuters:
"The Defense of Marriage Act is a discriminatory and unconstitutional law that harms thousands of families in Massachusetts and takes away our state's right to extend marriage equality to all couples," Coakley said in a statement. "It is our firm conviction that in order to truly achieve marriage equality, all couples must enjoy the same rights and protections under both state and federal law."
Coakley's 37-page brief asked the nation's highest court to uphold the decision that found denying federal benefits to married same-sex couples was unconstitutional. The brief said that the state "normally would oppose further review in order to ensure that the judgment takes effect as soon as possible" but added that "the Commonwealth recognizes that DOMA's unconstitutionality is a question of national significance."
Coakley's move was a response to a brief filed June 29 by the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG), appointed by the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, which wants the court to reverse the lower court ruling.
DOMA was ruled unconstitutional by a district court in Massachusetts in 2010, a ruling that was upheld by the First Circuit Court of Appeals' three-judge panel in a unanimous ruling on May 31.
Plaintiffs, including seven married same-sex couples and three widowers, said the law, which among other things prevents them from filing joint federal tax returns or collecting survivor benefits from the Social Security retirement system, denied them equal protections under the U.S. Constitution.
Coakley's brief can be viewed in full here.
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