The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled today that the Defense of Marriage Act, more specifically Section 3— the federal definition of marriage between one man and one woman—violates equal protection and is therefore unconstitutional. Today's ruling makes the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals the second federal court to hold DOMA unconstitutional. Today's decision hinges on Section 3 of DOMA, the part of the legislation which defines marriage.
I believe it was Roberts who wanted to know why this case came to them.
Chief Justice John Roberts took a swipe at President Obama during oral arguments Wednesday on the Defense of Marriage Act, saying the president should have the “courage” to stop executing statutes he deems unconstitutional rather than relying on the courts to pave the way.
“If he has made a determination that executing the law by enforcing the terms is unconstitutional, I don’t see why he doesn’t have the courage of his convictions,” Roberts said of Obama, “and execute not only the statute, but do it consistent with his view of the Constitution, rather than saying, oh, we’ll wait till the Supreme Court tells us we have no choice.”
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