Tag Archives: Defense of Marriage Act

The U.S. Supreme Court is still deciding the legal rights in gay marriages. The high court is expected to announce its rulings in June on whether the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denies federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples, and California’s ban on gay marriages (Proposition 8) are unconstitutional. Meanwhile, different states continue their own disputes on the issue. As Lawyers.com reported, the Illinois attorney general and Cook County clerk are refusing to defend their state’s law that …

The U.S. Supreme Court heard two hours of arguments today over the Defense of Marriage Act, which bans federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Opponents of the 1996 law argue that excluding gay couples from federal marriage benefits is unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment, which states that the federal government must not deprive people of “life, liberty, or property” while implying equality under the law. DOMA was ruled unconstitutional twice last year, first in a decision rendered by the 1st U.S. …

By Larry Bodine, Editor in Chief, Lawyers.com Editorial We are on the threshold of a historic decision on individual rights by the Supreme Court of the United States as it considers two cases involving same-sex marriage. The cases about “who you love” could change the laws in 41 states and more than 1,000 federal statutes. Regardless of what is said in the oral arguments, a reading of the merits briefs makes it clear that the Court will have to rule …

The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it would take up two cases which challenge the constitutionality of bans on LGBT marriage. In one case, the court will rule on the Defense of Marriage Act, which bans federal recognition of same sex marriage, effectively blocking LGBT couples from tax benefits and other privileges of official partnership in the eyes of Uncle Sam. New York resident Edith Windsor challenged DOMA as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth …

For the second time this year, a federal appeals court has deemed that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. Today the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that the 1996 law barring federal recognition of same-sex marriages is in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution that guarantees equal protection under the law. In June the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit in Boston handed down a similar ruling in a separate …