Case Against DOMA Rejection Presented

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We told you yesterday that the Supreme Court has been asked to determine the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. On May 31, the First Circuit ruled that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional.

In its petition, the U.S. House asks the Supreme Court to consider “Whether Section 3 of DOMA violates the equal protection component of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment,” and 2) “Whether the First Circuit erred by inventing and applying to Section 3 of DOMA a previously unknown standard of equal protection review.”

The petition argues that, “…the decision by the First Circuit invalidates an Act of Congress, conflicts with the decisions of this Court and numerous other courts of appeals, and embraces an entirely novel approach to constitutional equal protection analysis.”