It’s official — the House of Representatives will seek to intervene in the pending constitutional challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act.
I wonder what the House will claim as its basis for standing.
No, seriously, this is a good thing, even for DOMA opponents like me. A constitutional challenge to a law needs a full-throated defense of the law in order to have intellectual integrity.
The Obama Administration is getting a lot of criticism from social conservatives for ending its defense of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). However, if part of President Obama’s job is to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution,” he made the right call.
There was never any point in defending something as clearly unconstitutional as DOMA. This law sets up differing legal standards for Gay and Straight couples, thus violating the 14th Amendment. Because of DOMA, even Gay couples who are legally married in Iowa or Massachusetts are unrecognized by the federal government for the purposes of tax law and Social Security.
Also, unlike married Straight couples, married Gay couples become “UN-married” if they move across state lines, so DOMA violates the “Full Faith & Credit” clause.
Heck, even a lawyer with the American Family Association has admitted that DOMA is “probably unconstitutional.” Details are here:
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/03/01/AFAs_Lawyer_Says_DOMA_Is_Unconstitutional
By its own actions, the federal government has made marriage a federal issue. Most of the legal benefits of marriage are bestowed by the federal government. You can argue about religion and parenthood until the cows come home, and it will not negate the fact that there is simply no constitutional justification for denying law-abiding, taxpaying Gay couples the same legal benefits that Straight couples have always taken for granted.
The sad part is that this won’t be seen as an exemplification of the legislative process; it’ll be seen as uptight prude Republicans wanting to stamp on the lovely dreams of beautiful, unique snowflakes.