What The Massachusetts DOMA Decisions Mean
Filed by: Dr. Jillian T. Weiss
July 9, 2010 9:30 AM
http://www.bilerico.com/2010/07/what_the_massachusetts_doma_decisions_mean.phpAs you undoubtedly know by now, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued two opinions last night finding that the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" is unconstitutional.
Why two different opinions? The first one, Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, was by a federal employee looking to get benefits from her employer. She couldn't because of DOMA. She said DOMA violated the equal protection of the laws, a violation of the 5th Amendment to the US Constitution. (Interestingly, the 5th Amendment doesn't actually contain specific equal protection language, but the Supreme Court read it into the law a few decades ago.)
