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Jul 14, 2010
A U.S. district court judge in Massachusetts ruled on July 9 that a section of the U.S. Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional. This is a welcome development for married same-sex couples in that state, but its impact on same-sex marriages elsewhere is unclear.
To become federal law, the decision first would have to survive an appeal at the federal circuit court level. From there, the case would go to the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s nearly impossible to imagine the current justices supporting the decision, which states that the federal marriage ban violates the Constitution’s equal protection clause and interferes with states’ rights to establish their own marriage laws.
The decision puts the Obama administration in a quandary. The White House has condemned DOMA, but the nation’s chief executive has an obligation to use the Justice Department to defend laws enacted by Congress.
As of press time, the White House had not spoken on the ruling except to say that the president believes DOMA is discriminatory and should be repealed by Congress. But the administration had so far refused to comment on whether it believes DOMA is unconstitutional.
If the administration chooses to let the decision stand, it will not have any impact beyond the state of Massachusetts. But if the White House appeals the decision, the outcome is unlikely to be favorable.
Still, the best course of action the White House can take is none. Allowing the ruling to stand will establish a framework of legal encroachment against the discriminatory federal law. The administration should argue that marriage law falls under the sovereignty of the state and leave it at that. After all, the states’-rights argument is a mantra of conservatives, when it suits their purposes. Turn it back on them.
Moreover, the nation needs – and wants – a president who stands by his or her convictions. The voters, including an overwhelming majority of LGBT people, cast their ballots in 2008 for a promise of change and “no more politics as usual.” But Obama has provided mostly half-measures and capitulations on a host of the issues that drove many of us so enthusiastically to the polls.
It’s time for courage and leadership, for change we can believe in. The White House should let the decision stand.
