Yesterday the Obama administration announced that it would no longer appeal DOMA, Section 3 challenges in court. DOMA Section 3 is the part of the law that defines marriage as valid only between a man and a woman.
“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,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
“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,” Holder said. “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.”
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters in a briefing on Wednesday afternoon that they’d “will no longer defend DOMA going forward.”
“We will continue to enforce it and allow those cases to continue and be resolved so that Congress and members of Congress can pursue the defense if they so desire,” Carney said. “The President is obligated to defend the law.”
Obama is late to the party on this issue, but better late than never. This announcement could have a profound affect on cases already in the courts. So far, Massachusetts has asked the court to drop the appeal working its way through the courts (first ruling was in favor of marriage equality) and the challengers of Prop 8 have asked the California Appeals Court to drop the stay on the Prop 8 ruling.
As we’ve come to expect, Chris Coons has a perfect response on this issue:
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) today praised the Obama Administration’s decision to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court.
“The Defense of Marriage Act enshrined the discriminatory treatment of American citizens based on sexual orientation, which simply should not be a factor in a person’s access to equality in this country. Rather than defend an unconstitutional statue, the President today demonstrated his commitment to defending the Constitution and its prohibition on arbitrary discrimination.
“Whether or not the New York court ultimately agrees with the Administration’s position, the time for such discrimination is at an end. It is time to repeal DOMA and make clear that it is not the policy of the government of the United States of America to discriminate against its citizens on the basis of their sexual orientation.
“I look forward to working with Senator Feinstein and my colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee to repeal DOMA.”
John Boehner had an interesting response:
“While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending, the President will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversial issue that sharply divides the nation.”
Wait, he’s concerned about jobs now? Greg Sargent notices something missing from Boehner’s statement – any mention of the culture wars. No talk of God or Jesus or the Bible at all.
It’s another sign that while the culture wars have reasserted themselves with a vengeance in the GOP’s anti-abortion push, gay rights issues have lost virtually all their potency and bite. As many have observed already, the generational divide within the GOP is asserting itself on gay rights in a way that it simply hasn’t on abortion. It’ll be very interesting to see if any real support emerges from GOP leaders for the scattered calls we’ll be hearing among conservatives to defund the repeal of don’t ask don’t tell. My bet is there won’t be any to speak of — another sign that on this issue at least, things are moving in the right direction.
I’d like to believe that this particular part of the culture war is losing steam but I see the fight over CPAC and don’t think we’re even close to the end. I’d love to be wrong.