Federal judge finds Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional

A federal judge has ruled the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, is unconstitutional and has ordered the government to provide benefits to the wife of a lesbian who is a federal employee. DOMA defines marriage as unions between opposite sex couples and restricts the term “spouse” to mean only an opposite sex partner.

On Wednesday, Judge Jeffrey White of the US District Court for Northern California ruled that the use of DOMA to ban benefits to a same sex partner violates the right to equal protection under the law.

The decision is the first since the Obama Administration announced last year that it would no longer defend DOMA in court and could have implications for other ongoing cases across the country.

For more, we’re joined by John Davidson, Legal Director, with LAMBDA Legal. That’s the organization that argued the case.