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Mar 11, 2010
A federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman forces Massachusetts to discriminate against same-sex couples, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley argues in court papers.
Coakley’s office filed a lawsuit in July challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
In court papers filed in U.S. District Court in late February, Coakley asked a judge to deem the law unconstitutional without holding a trial on the lawsuit.
Coakley argues that regulating marital status has traditionally been left to the states. She said the federal law treats married heterosexual couples and married same-sex couples differently, forcing Massachusetts “to engage in invidious discrimination against its own citizens in order to receive and retain federal funds in connection with two joint federal-state programs.”
