Yet another court rules against DOMA

It’s hard to say how many it’s been by now, but yet another court has ruled that a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional:

A federal appeals court Thursday declared that the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutionally denies federal benefits to married gay couples, a groundbreaking ruling all but certain to wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In its unanimous decision, the three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the 1996 law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman deprives gay couples of the rights and privileges granted to heterosexual couples.

The court didn't rule on the law's more politically combustible provision, which said states without same-sex marriage cannot be forced to recognize gay unions performed in states where it's legal. It also wasn't asked to address whether gay couples have a constitutional right to marry.

Who knows, maybe this dreadful law for government-sanctioned discrimination will actually die in court before the end of the year. It’ll presumably soon be up to the Supreme Court to decide its fate.

(via @todayspolitics)

Tags: DOMA • Defense of Marriage Act • gay marriage • same-sex marriage • marriage equality • 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals