To continue with the discussion about the definition of marriage in America, the Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, is front and center in the current debate on same-sex marriages. A three judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston has unanimously ruled that DOMA is unconstitutional because it denies federal benefits to married gay couples.  Recapping the 1996 law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, the court indicated that this law deprives gay couples from what is granted to heterosexual couples even in states where such unions are legal.  According to a NPR’s report Court Rules against Key Part of Gay Marriage Law, “The court also left in place a stay of its decision so that the federal law will remain in effect during an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

In a the statement issued by former President Bill Clinton at the time he signed the legislation enacting  DOMA, he said, “Throughout my life I have strenuously opposed discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans. I am signing into law H.R. 3396, a bill relating to same-gender marriage, but it is important to note what this legislation does and does not do. …The Act confirms the right of each state to determine its own policy with respect to same gender marriage and clarifies for purposes of federal law the operative meaning of the terms "marriage" and "spouse". …It has no effect on any current federal, state or local anti-discrimination law and does not constrain the right of Congress or any state or locality to enact anti-discrimination laws.”  According to the May 31st article in The New York Times, Geoffrey Stone, a professor of law at the University of Chicago, said “It is another illustration of the growing consensus of the judiciary about the unconstitutionality of discriminating against gays and lesbians in the realm of marriage.”

Over the past 16 years, American society continues to evolve over same-sex marriage as now 6 states (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York) and the District of Columbia have passed laws legalizing it.  In 2012, there will be 3 more states (Washington, Maryland, and California) to have same-sex marriage laws established. However, there are 5 states (Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, and Rhode Island) where there are laws recognizing civil unions for same–sex couples.  In addition, these states (California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Maine, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia) recognize state-level domestic partnerships for unmarried couples according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Also in the Court Rules against Key Part of Gay Marriage Law, “Gary Bauer, chairman of American Values, a conservative public policy group, sees the decision as the proverbial camel's nose in the tent. ‘This is the way over the last 30 years that courts in the United States have ordered radical social change,’ he said. Comparing the DOMA ruling to early abortion decisions limited to rape and incest, he said, ‘American elites overwhelmingly support same-sex marriage. They see it as the civil rights struggle of modern times. The only problem is that the American people disagree."

Susanne L Woodford, Freelance Writer