House Republicans have decided to give up the ghost and abandon their support of the Defense of Marriage of Act, or DOMA and all similar legislation across the country. Of course the decision comes in the wake of the Supreme Court decision last month that declared DOMA unconstitutional.
According to The Advocate, the announcement, made by the GOP-led House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, also known as BLAG, comes as part of a Massachusetts federal case that challenges the constitutionality of the military's definition of spouse as " "a person of the opposite sex" in Title 38 of the U.S. Code."
"Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued Wednesday that the Supreme Court ruling on DOMA effectively decides the case in favor of their clients — a lesbian judge advocate general, Maj. Shannon McLaughlin, and her wife, Casey, — in the case brought by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and Chadbourne & Park.
"'The Supreme Court recently resolved the issue of DOMA Section 3’s constitutionality,'" wrote BLAG's attorneys, according to Geidner. "While the question of whether 38 U.S.C. § 101(3), (31) is constitutional remains open, the House has determined, in light of the Supreme Court’s opinion in Windsor, that it no longer will defend that statute. Accordingly, the House now seeks leave to withdraw as a party defendant.'"
BLAG came under fire for spending close to $3 million of taxpayer funds defending DOMA and similar court cases.
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