From the National Journal....
President Obama has decided that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional and has asked his Justice Department to stop defending it in court, the administration announced today.
"The President believes that DOMA is unconstitutional. They are no longer going to be defending the cases in the 1st and 2nd circuits," a person briefed on the decision said.
The administration will formally notify Congress later today. The act sought to restrict single-sex unions.
I have to admit I'm a little shocked. I fully expected Obama to eventually make moves in favor of marriage equality but I expected it to be well after his re-election, and even then, likely after the 2014 midterms. This is an interesting development. Is he picking a fight in the culture wars? Is he trying to make the GOP/Teabaggers run from the economy and to same-sex marriage - in turn exposing them for what they really are?
It's nice for a change to be pleasantly surprised by the administration's actions. While I'll temper any enthusiasm until the full story is told, this is absolutely a step in the right direction for the civil rights issue of our day. Stay tuned.
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