Another federal court has ruled that the federal Defense of Marriage Act is discriminatory, leaving it likely hat the Supreme Court will be forced to respond.
The decision today said the 1996 law “discriminates against married same-sex couples by denying them the same federal benefits afforded to heterosexual couples,” according to The New York Times.
The court endorsed a 2010 ruling by a Massachusetts federal judge, who said “the law violated the equal protection clause of the constitution by denying benefits to one class of married couples — gay men and lesbians — but not to others.”
The appeals court on Thursday agreed, saying the law interfered with the right of a state to define marriage. The benefits denied to same-sex couples range from the right to file joint tax returns, which can reduce a couple’s payments, to the ability to collect death benefits.
While this is good news, it is important to remember that we are deling with a conservative court whose swing vote, Anthony Kennedy, has a mixed history on gay rights issues.
Even if this court upholds today’s decision, ending DOMA will do little to end the patchwork set of marriage laws that leave gays and lesbians far less than equal in far too many states.
Hank Kalet 