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发帖数: 4174 | 1 Posted on Advocate.com July 26, 2011 12:25:00 PM ET
NY Attorney General Files Brief in DOMA Case
By Julie Bolcer
EricSchneidermanx390 (Campaign) | Advocate.com
Eric Schneiderman
New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman filed a brief Tuesday in the
case of Windsor v. United States to challenge the constitutionality of the
Defense of Marriage Act, arguing that DOMA violates same-sex couples’ right
to equal protection under the law and must be invalidated.
The friend-of-the-court brief, filed in the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York, argues that DOMA, which in section 3
prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex unions valid in
the state, violates same-sex couples' right to equal protection under the
law. The Obama administration announced earlier this year that it would no
longer defend DOMA.
According to a statement from the attorney general’s office, “In the
amicus curiae brief, Schneiderman argues that in redefining the term
marriage, Section 3 of DOMA violates the equal protection component of the
Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, and must therefore be invalidated. He
goes on to argue that the statute is an improper intrusion on the
traditional role of states in defining marriage; that it discriminates based
on sex and sexual orientation and therefore must be subjected to heightened
scrutiny; and that DOMA fails any level of scrutiny because it does not
advance any legitimate federal interest.”
The brief asks the court to grant the plaintiff’s motion for summary
judgment and declare section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional.
Edie Windsor, who lives in New York, married her late spouse Thea Spyer in
Canada in 2007, a marriage that was recognized under New York state law.
However, because of DOMA, the federal government taxed the inheritance Spyer
left for Windsor after she died in 2009, forcing the widow to pay more than
$360,000. In her suit, Windsor seeks a refund of the tax and argues that
DOMA violates the equal protection principles of the U.S. Constitution.
Schneiderman said, “The federal Defense of Marriage Act clearly violates
the principle of equal justice under law as enshrined in the U.S.
Constitution and improperly intrudes on the traditional role of states in
defining marriage. The State of New York has long recognized out-of-state,
same-sex marriages and the enactment of the Marriage Equality Act further
cements our state’s position on this critical civil rights issue. My office
will fight every day to defend the fundamental guarantee of equal
protection under law for all New Yorkers.”
Last year in his campaign for attorney general, Schneiderman, a former state
senator who voted for the marriage equality bill that failed in 2009,
pledged to join the fight against DOMA if elected. The brief was filed two
days after the marriage equality law took effect in New York. Schneiderman
is one of three defendants, in addition to the state senate and department
of health, named in a lawsuit marriage equality opponents filed on Monday
alleging improper activity in the process preceding the vote in the state
legislature last month. |
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