[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/doma-challenge-hits-federal-court\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/doma-challenge-hits-federal-court\/","headline":"DOMA Challenge Hits Massachusetts Federal Court","name":"DOMA Challenge Hits Massachusetts Federal Court","description":"By Katherine Dean In what is considered to be the first serious legal challenge to the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), US District Court...","datePublished":"2010-05-10","dateModified":"2021-06-21","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/#Person","name":"Equally Wed","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/","identifier":787,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/doma-challenge-hits-federal-court\/","about":["Marriage Equality News"],"wordCount":281,"articleBody":"By Katherine DeanIn what is considered to be the first serious legal challenge to the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), US District Court Judge Joseph L. Tauro began hearing arguments in a Massachusetts federal court yesterday. Mary L. Bonauto, an attorney for Gay &  Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAAD),  urged Judge Tauro to strike down the discriminatory law, arguing that  DOMA, which that defines marriage as exclusively heterosexual, is \u201can  unconstitutional intrusion on a matter previously left to the states.\u201d  Under DOMA, Bonauto\u2019s 17 gay and lesbian clients, who have been legally  married in the state of Massachusetts, are denied access to federal marriage rights such  as Social Security retirement and survivor benefits, family medical  leave, joint parenting rights, tax free transfer of property, and more  than 1,000 other marriage-related benefits. On behalf of the federal  government, Justice Department Attorney W. Scott Simpson stated that  while the Obama administration believes DOMA is discriminatory and  favors repealing the statute, it does not affect whether or not the law  is constitutional. Simpson said that the Justice Department is obligated  to defend laws that are constitutionally enacted by Congress. Simpson  is asking Judge Tauro to dismiss the complaint, while Bonauto is asking  the Judge to rule in favor of her clients without a trial, as a matter  of law. If Judge Tauro rules for plaintiffs, same-sex marriage will not  become legal in states where it is currently illegal, nor would states  be required to recognize marriages that occurred legally in other states  or jurisdictions. It would, however, begin the process of reversing  DOMA and would be a triumph for same-sex marriage supporters. The case  is ultimately expected to reach the Supreme Court."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"DOMA Challenge Hits Massachusetts Federal Court","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/doma-challenge-hits-federal-court\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]