In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that Section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional, giving the gay community an enormous victory. The ruling came in a 5-4 SCOTUS decision with Chief Justice Roberts, along with Justices Scalia, Alito, and Thomas dissenting. The Proposition 8 case has been decided as well, with the majority ruling that the “Ninth Circuit was without jurisdiciton to consider the appeal. The judgment of the Ninth Circuit is vacated, and the case is remanded with instructions to dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.”
WCVB notes of Prop 8 that “The court’s 5-4 vote Wednesday leaves in place the initial trial court declaration that the ban [on gay marriage] is unconstitutional. California officials probably will rely on that ruling to allow the resumption of same-sex unions in about a month’s time.”
As for DOMA, Section 3 was described by the majority as “a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment.” Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan were all in favor of the ruling.
The opinion written by Kennedy notes that “There is a ‘careful consideration’ standard: In determining whether a law is motivated by improper animus or purpose, discriminations of an unusual character especially require careful consideration. DOMA cannot survive under these principles.”
Section 3 of DOMA reinforces the non-recognition of same-sex marriages for all federal purposes, most notably including insurance benefits for government employees, Social Security survivors’ benefits, immigration, and the filing of joint tax returns.
On December 7, 2012, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the United States v. Windsor case in which Edie Windsor was ordered to pay $363,000 in federal estate taxes on the inheritance left to her by her partner of 40 years, though her home state of New York recognized same-sex marriages in other jurisdictions.
SCOTUSBlog notes that, “To be clear: Windsor does not establish a constitutional right to same sex marriage. It was important to the outcome that the couple in the case was legally married under state law. The equal protection violation arose from Congress’s disrespecting that decision by New York to allow the marriage.”
According to CBS, the ruling will affect the “approximately 130,000 legally married same-sex couples who were previously denied federal benefits under Section 3. That provision impacts around 1,100 federal laws, including veterans’ benefits, family medical leave and tax laws.”
