Defense of Marriage Act Goes to SCOTUS

The Supreme Court is the next stop in the battle over the definition of marriage, thanks to a federal appeals court partially striking down a law defending marriage passed by a strong bipartisan majority and signed by President Bill Clinton.

Congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996. It passed the House 342-67, and the Senate 85-14, with strong bipartisan supermajorities. But DOMA is under attack in federal court. Then President Barack Obama joined those challenges, with Attorney General Eric Holder abandoning his duty to defend Acts of Congress in court, and instead filing legal briefs arguing the courts should strike down DOMA. So Congress has retained outside counsel to do Holder’s job, with its Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) hiring the finest Supreme Court lawyer in the nation, former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, to defend DOMA.

Two provisions of DOMA are newsworthy. The first is Section 2, providing that if one state creates same-sex marriage, other states are not required to recognize them. The other is Section 3, providing that for federal law and federal programs—such as Social Security spousal benefits—marriage is defined as one man and one woman.

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