Everyone is waiting with bated breath to see if and how the New York marriage equality victory will impact the progress of marriage in other states and even on a federal level. Today we may have gotten a preview. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a “friend of the court” brief supporting the ACLU in their opposition of DOMA. (Read a PDF of the brief here.)
Schneiderman isn’t the first to do this; Martha Coakley, Massachusetts Attorney General, also filed a lawsuit against Section 3 of DOMA (the same section that Obama has declared unconstitutional) back in 2009. Aside from acknowledging the unconstitutional and discriminatory aspects of DOMA, Coakley also argued that DOMA “undermined states’ efforts to recognize marriages between same-sex couples,” effectively bringing the argument into the realm of states’ rights. While the hurtful, discriminatory effects of DOMA feel more important to our day-to-day lives, a states’ rights argument might be the most effective way to end it. Box Turtle Bulletin explains how DOMA violates states’ rights, and what New York’s suit has to do with it. (Read the whole thing if you can – it’s very helpful.)
It presumes, in paragraph 3, that the federal government holds veto power over marriage and can – for any matter that impacts any federal program – replace the state’s criteria with its own. If the marriage criteria in Vermont doesn’t meet the approval of the Senator from Alabama or the Congressman from Mississippi, then by securing a bare majority of fellow legislators they can dictate to Vermont which of its citizens can be considered married for Social Security, taxation, and health care, and which are deemed by Alabama and Mississippi to be unworthy.
While the DoJ has already declared that it will no longer defend DOMA in court, and the recent hearing on the Respect for Marriage Act seemed to indicate pretty conclusively that the anti-gay side doesn’t have much of a leg to stand on, this brief still won’t end DOMA on its own. Ultimately, that will probably need to wait for the Supreme Court’s decision. What it does instead is is lend weight to the forces already aligned against it — as Pam’s House Blend says, “the weight of yet another major state objecting to DOMA may be too much for this discriminatory law to bear.”
New York’s court brief will support Windsor vs. United States, the lawsuit filed by the ACLU and Edith Windsor, the 81-year-old widow of her partner of 44 years, Thea Spyer. They married in Canada in 2007. Hers is one of the suits in which the DoJ has refused to continue defending DOMA, ceding her the ethical if not legal victory. With the support of New York and the President and hopefully others as well, maybe she will finally get the justice she’s looking for.
DOMA’s goin’ down, ya’ll, and I can’t wait to spit on its grave.
I was actually thinking I’d urinate on it. You know, for a classy tribute.
The time, they are a changin.’
FINALLY!
DOMA’s death cannot come soon enough
Thank heavens, I think DOMA’s end is coming quite soon. Is it me, or does this pro-gay sentiment seem to be growing larger at an exponential rate?
true, pro-gay sentiment going on
And that’s why NY is the capital’s world
And secondly we have Ghana who approve a law to arrest LGTB people
http://www.allmediany.com/details_news_article.php?news_artid=1502
And good feeling’s gone.
Hey NY, you wanna be my bff too? I like what you’re doing here, you and me and California should get coffee sometime. Maybe you can teach CA a few things…
Also, DOMA needs to go die in a hole. Begone already!
DOMA is ridiculous. There’s a part of me that’s truly amazed that it’s lasted so long. (And, of course, the side that sees the homophobia still lingering around and understands why it’s stayed.) I can’t wait until it’s finally done with. Not just in NY, but all over the US.
wow, i’m so proud to be from ny. it was fantastic when they allowed gay and now ny is continuing to do the right thing by lgbts.
i meant: it was fantastic when they allowed gay marriage and now ny is continuing to do the right thing by lgbts.
Great article, Rachel. Thank you!
I’m scared to be hopeful about this. Especially as my state is voting on whether to put “only straight marriage is real marriage” into our constitution in 2012. I’m trying to be positive about the whole situation of marriage equality in America but it’s really hard.
great, great piece. thank you, rachel.