The U.S. Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) essentially came under scrutiny in Boston Wednesday. A Boston federal appeals court heard arguments about DOMA, which forbids married same-sex couples receive federal benefits, according to msnbc.com.
Three judges, including Chief Judge Sandra Lynch, Judge Michael Boudin and Judge Juan Torruella, presided over the joint cases of Gill v. Office of Personnel Management and Massachusetts v. Health and Human Services.
Plaintiffs, including seven married gay couples and three widowers, claim DOMA discriminates against them. Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) Civil Rights Project Director Mary Bonuato argued on their behalf.
“DOMA’s precise point was to create an across the board exclusion of same-sex couples in the U.S. Code,” Bonauto told the court.
“The promise of equal protection is that likes are to be treated alike, but DOMA treats married same-sex couples differently from all other married persons, making gay people and our marriages unequal to all others,” she added.
U.S. House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group lawyers (BLAG) is defending DOMA, which that the Obama administration has virtually ignored since 2011. BLAG lawyer Paul Clement claimed U.S. Congress had good reason for passing DOMA, the Associated Press reports.
Hawaii’s possible legal recognition of same-sex marriage could have forced other states to follow suit. Congress wanted to “preserve a traditional and uniform definition of marriage.”
Since DOMA codifies the refusal to recognize same-sex marriage, it denies gay couples equal protection under the law. These proceedings mark the first time an appeals court has pondered the law’s constitutionality.
Another federal judge in Massachusetts rendered part of DOMA unconstitutional in 2010. The state began legally recognizing same-sex marriages in 2004, becoming the first state to do so.
Photo: voices.washingtonpost.com
