m******8
发帖数: 2153 | 1 by Edmund Broch
26 May 2012, 2:54pm
A district court judge in California has become the third federal judge to
declare the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denies federal benefits to
same-sex couples, as unconstitutional.
The controversial act, passed in 1996, was deemed to be discriminatory by
Judge Claudia Wilken, becoming the first to throw her weight against the
anti-gay measure since President Obama announced his support for equal
marriage.
Previously a court in Massachusetts under judge Joseph Tauro, and another in
California under Jeffrey White had ruled similarly. Both judgments in
California are set for appeals.
DOMA, in defining marriage as ‘a legal union of one man and one woman as
husband and wife,’ outlaws many federal benefits, most crucially joint tax
returns and immigration rights to spouses. This, Judge Wilkens declared, was
‘a burdensome legislation that is the product of sheer anti-gay animus,
and devoid of any legitimate governmental purpose,’ according to the San
Fransisco Chronicle.
The judge also overturned another legislation from 1996 which denied same-
sex couples federal tax benefits under long-term health insurance plans.
This too, she argued, was based on ‘moral condemnation and social
disapprobation of same-sex couples,’ citing congressional transcripts which
declared same-sex partnerships as ‘an attack on the family,’ that would
‘undermine the traditional moral values that are the bedrock’ of the US.
Five married same-sex couples have filed another anti-DOMA federal lawsuit
in New York, and another a third federal case is being heard regarding the
constitutionality of DOMA in Boston.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/05/26/california-anti-gay-defens | m******8
发帖数: 2153 | 2 A federal judge has boosted the campaign for gay marriage by overturning a
law which denied federal benefits to same-sex couples.
Claudia Wilken, a district court judge for the northern district of
California, ruled on Thursday that congress acted unconstitutionally in
discriminating against gay couples in the 1996 Defence of Marriage Act (Doma
).
Wilken became the first judge to rule against the controversial legislation
since President Barack Obama threw his weight behind gay marriage earlier
this month.
Gay rights campaigners welcomed the ruling. "This adds to the momentum for
overturning this radical and discriminatory law," said Evan Wolfson, of
Freedom to Marry, an advocacy group.
Wilken, a Clinton-era appointee based in Oakland, a liberal bastion, was the
third federal judge to find Doma unconstitutional following a ruling by
judge Joseph Tauro in Massachusetts in 2010 and one by judge Jeffrey White
in California earlier this year. That ruling is under appeal and is due to
go before a circuit court of appeals in September. Thursday's ruling is also
expected to be appealed.
Doma, which was championed by opponents of gay marriage, defines marriage as
"a legal union of a one man and one woman as husband and wife". It
withholds multiple federal benefits, including joint tax filing and
immigration sponsorship, from gay couples legally married under state law.
Wilken said gays and lesbians were constitutionally protected from "
burdensome legislation that is the product of sheer antigay animus and
devoid of any legitimate governmental purpose", according to the San
Francisco Chronicle.
Wilken also overturned another 1996 law withholding federal tax benefits to
long-term health insurance plans for state employees if they included
domestic partners.
That, like Doma, was based on "moral condemnation and social disapprobation
of same-sex couples," she said. The judge cited congressional debate
transcripts that same-sex domestic partnership was "an attack on the family"
and would "undermine the traditional moral values that are the bedrock of
this nation".
Wilken was ruling in a lawsuit filed against the California Public Employees
' Retirement System by same-sex couples whose spouses were barred from
enrolling in the federally approved insurance programme. Wilken said there
was no proof the Doma provision was "rationally related to a legitimate
government interest".
The ruling followed signs public opinion was shifting behind the president.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 53% of Americans say same-sex
marriage should be legal, a sharp rise. Just 39%, a new low, say it should
be illegal.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/25/doma-ruled-unconsti |
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