The Defense of Marriage Act received another federal slam today in Connecticut when Judge Vanessa L. Bryant ruled in the case, Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management, that the 1996 law violates the Equal Protection Clause found in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Represented by Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), the plantiffs challenged the law, upheld by the House-controlled Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG).
Janet Geller & Joanne Marquis, two of the plaintiffs in the Connecticut case
In the ruling, the President George W. Bush-appointed judge concluded, “Having considered the purported rational bases proffered by both BLAG and Congress and concluded that such objectives bear no rational relationship to Section 3 of DOMA as a legislative scheme, the Court finds that no conceivable rational basis exists for the provision. The provision therefore violates the equal protection principles incorporated in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
This isn’t the first time a federal court has ruled the law as unconstitutional, having done so in May with a unanimous decision in Boston.
“I’m thrilled that the court ruled that our marriage commitment should be respected by the federal government just as it is in our home state of Connecticut,” said Joanne Pedersen, who is a plaintiff with her spouse, Ann Meitzen. “I loved working for the Navy for many years, and now that I am retired I now just want to care for my wife and make sure we can enjoy some happy and healthy years together. DOMA has prevented us from doing that.”
“Judge Bryant’s ruling is very clear: married people are married and should be treated as such by the federal government. There is no legitimate basis for DOMA’s broad disrespect of the marriages of same-sex couples,” said Mary L. Bonauto, GLAD’s Civil Rights Project Director. “We are very pleased that the Court recognized that DOMA’s creation of second-class marriages harms our clients who simply seek the same opportunities to care and provide for each other and for their children that other families enjoy.”
Photo: glad.org
