Defense Of Marriage Act Challenged By Eric Schneiderman, New York Attorney General

Two days after same-sex marriage became legal in New York, the state's attorney general has taken legal action challenging the constitutionality of the U.S. law which defines marriage as between a man and woman.

In court papers filed on Tuesday in U.S. federal court in Manhattan, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, violates same-sex couples' right to equal protection under the U.S. Constitution.

The 1996 law prohibits same-sex couples from receiving marriage-based benefits such as Social Security survivor benefits, health benefits and the right to file taxes jointly.

Schneiderman argued the law intrudes on the state's right to regulate marriage. On Sunday, gay couples began to marry in New York after it was made legal.

New York is the sixth and largest U.S. state to allow same-sex marriage. Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia also do so.

"By discriminating among married couples based on sexual orientation and sex, DOMA deprives New York of the ability to extend true equality to all marriages valid in the State," Schneiderman wrote.

Schneiderman made his arguments in support of a case brought by Edie Windsor, a woman who sued the United States last year after an inheritance from her former partner was taxed. Windsor, who was married in Canada in 2007, said she had to pay $350,000 in inheritance tax in 2009 after the federal government refused to recognize her marriage.

Windsor argued she "was forced to pay in violation of the constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the law."

In February, the Obama administration announced it would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act's section which defines marriage as between a man and woman.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[Beth Alexander]

09:57 PM on 07/27/2011

Slowly but surely, more and more people in our government each day are begininning to say and do things that actually make sense (imagine that!). We've got so far to go, but a change is gonna come!

[Contact1972]

02:38 AM on 08/08/2011

The demise of DOMA cannot happen quickly enough.

[AudreyLee]

09:21 PM on 07/27/2011

Schneiderman's got it right. DOMA is not only discriminatory, it is unconstitutional.

[pep1]

03:08 PM on 07/27/2011

Eric Schneiderman actually does something for the citizens of New York. Hey we sure could use this in DC right now.

[Stephen Salbod]

03:07 PM on 07/27/2011

I like the good old New York 1-2!

[rsticks18]

02:44 PM on 07/27/2011

waiting for all the protesting about all the rights still not given---like joint federal tax returns and others-------------------this is not about socal justice it's about more divorce cases for lawyers so they can make more money-------------------

[ColleenHarper]

10:27 PM on 07/27/2011

Sorry, but it's the heterosexual marriages that are falling apart and going through divorce with lawyers making money. There have been very few gay divorces yet, so I hope lawyers haven't specialized in gay divorce.

And as an aside: the MOST stable pairing arrangements that sociologists, psychologists, statisticians, etc, can find are lesbian couples. Their relationships outlast all other forms of relationships. Especially evangelical marriages!

[paroxario]

02:40 PM on 07/27/2011

Another attempt to chip away at DOMA, and about time at that! Time to walk the talk of equality for all.

[jackbutler5555]

02:16 PM on 07/27/2011

As people others have come to love and respect come out of the closet, the world changes.

This is a locomotive coming down the tracks and nobody can step in front of it to stop it. 

Some few will have to sit on the benches of the railroad station, saying "ain't it awful."

[Bruce Negron]

01:52 PM on 07/27/2011

Now we cooking with organic, olive oil cold pressed for your better heart health! My love/hate relationship with NYC is swinging towards love these past few weeks!

[Paulo1]

01:46 PM on 07/27/2011

Oh don't you all wish you lived in NY where we have a nice progressive government? (This is the first time in my life I can brag about NY government and I am having such a good time wallowing in the feeling) Notice that it took barely two days for Schneiderman to file this case. Talk about fast action by the government this must set some kind of a record.

So proud, so very proud. ;)

[dawnag44]

02:38 PM on 07/27/2011

I am from New Jersey and wish I had your governor. CUOMO POTUS 2016!!! Great statesman like his Dad.

[RRuin]

01:00 PM on 07/28/2011

Living in New York is like living in a different country. We have a fantastic, tough, progressive governor who knows how to fight. I'm all for Cuomo 2016.

[Desuka]

01:45 PM on 07/27/2011

Well its good to hear someones challenging DOMA, however this isnt the place of the Attorney General, this is the roll of the Solicitor General.

[canoebum]

02:45 PM on 07/27/2011

The Solicitor General is included in the filing. Go and look at the title page of the brief. As the people's advocate and chief law enforcement officer of the the state, the AG did exactly the right thing.

[Desuka]

02:57 PM on 07/27/2011

thank you for clarifying

[thesadtruthliveson]

01:41 PM on 07/27/2011

Go get the Eric !

[Eris23]

10:58 AM on 07/27/2011

It's about time.

[Old Yaller Dog]

10:29 AM on 07/27/2011

Hooray for Eric Schneiderman!

[Contact1972]

02:40 AM on 08/08/2011

Agreed! Cute puppy:-)

[editboy]

10:03 AM on 07/27/2011

Is ite or ar the state governments stepping in on behalf of citizens while the federal government wastes your money/time jockeying for the next election?

[joemondo]

09:14 AM on 07/27/2011

Wow - an AG looking after the law and advocating for the residents of his state. What a nice change from so much of the country!