Is the Defense of Marriage Act Doomed?

By: American Decency Staff

 

For the second time a federal appeals court has ruled the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, ruling it violated the equal protection act by barring same-sex couples from legally marrying. While legal scholars, along with pro-gay activists, are celebrating their success, they are also concerned that the ruling may be too favorable and not be upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The case the Second Circuit ruled on involved the deceased partner of a lesbian couple who was married in Canada in 2007 but lived in New York. The state did recognize their marriage as a legal union. When one of the women, Thea Spyer, died in 2009, her "wife," Edith Windsor, now 83, was prevented under Section 3 of DOMA from claiming an exemption for the federal estate tax available for surviving spouses because only couples of the opposite sex could qualify for the exemption.

The appeal court's ruling in essence said that Congress gave no good legal reason why homosexual couples should be treated any differently than heterosexual couples. It was Section 3 that the appeals court overturned.

But the question activists are now asking is: Is DOMA doomed or will the SCOTUS breathe new life into the 16-year-old law?

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/is-the-defense-of-marriage-act-doomed-83673/#2zybQ3dzLsYZyybA.99 

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