g********d 发帖数: 4174 | 1 DOJ Files Appeal in DOMA Case
By Advocate.com Editors
The Department of Justice filed a one-page “notice of appeal” Tuesday in
the case of Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, a challenge to Section 3
of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The case was heard in May 2010 by U.
S. District Court Joseph L. Tauro, who ruled Section 3 of DOMA
unconstitutional on July 8, 2010.
Mary L. Bonauto, director of the Civil Rights Project at the Gay & Lesbian
Advocates & Defenders, the organization that brought the case, said she was
not surprised by the filing.
“We fully expected an appeal and are more than ready to meet it head on,”
said Bonauto. “DOMA brings harm to families like our plaintiffs every day,
denying married couples and their children basic protections like health
insurance, pensions, and Social Security benefits. We are confident in the
strength of our case.”
Martha Coakley, the attorney general for Massachusetts who filed the case
along with GLAD, echoed Bonauto's statements.
"We look forward to presenting our case," Coakley said in a statement. “
DOMA is an unjust, unfair, and unconstitutional law that discriminates
against Massachusetts married couples and their families. DOMA denies same-
sex married couples from being treated equally under the law across a wide
range of areas, from accessing basic health care, retirement, and social
security benefits to being buried with their loved ones in a veteran’s
cemetery.”
According to a press release from GLAD, the next step will be for the
government to file its brief to the First Circuit Court of Appeals arguing
against Judge Tauro’s ruling. GLAD will then file its brief in opposition
to the government, and finally the government will file a reply brief. At
that point, the appeal will be scheduled for oral argument. Briefing could
be concluded by the spring of 2011 with oral argument to follow by the fall
of 2011.
The government also today filed its notice of appeal in the related case
Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. Department of Health and Human Services. |
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