DOMA Ruling Appealed: House Leaders Appeal California Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

SAN FRANCISCO — Three GOP congressional leaders are appealing a federal judge's ruling that declared a law prohibiting the government from recognizing same-sex marriages to be unconstitutional, according to court papers filed Friday.

Private lawyers for the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group notified the federal court in San Francisco that they are asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the decision issued by District Judge Jeffrey White this week.

Ruling in the case of a lawyer who works for the appeals court and who had been blocked from enrolling her wife in a family health insurance plan, White said the Office of Personnel Management could not rely on the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act to deny the medical coverage.

House Speaker John Boehner appointed the five-member advisory group last year to defend the marriage law from legal challenges after the Department of Justice announced it no longer would back the law in court because the Obama administration concluded it violates the civil rights of gay men and lesbians.

Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy are joining Boehner in bringing the appeal, the appeal notice states. The advisory group's two Democratic members, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, declined to participate.

U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York and Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California last year introduced bills to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, but neither has been put to a floor vote.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that the appeal was regarding Proposition 8. The appeal is actually regarding the Defense of Marriage Act.

Comments

[AquariusNSF]

03:23 PM on 03/17/2012

We needed this case to be appealed because we need a final ruling on DOMA Section 3 (as unconstitutional) by the SCOTUS.

[JBaker]

11:59 PM on 03/11/2012

Gay cases headed for the Supreme Court will consistently effectively be decided by one man: Justice Kennedy. The right-wing of this very political court is dead-set against gay marriage. And Kennedy is unpredictable in his decisions.

The candidate elected in November will appoint at least two new judges to replace retiring judges in the next four years. Who do you want to make those appointments? If you care - vote!

[AquariusNSF]

03:21 PM on 03/17/2012

While Kennedy can be unpredictable, he has not ruled against the gay community in any of his previous decisions (that I am aware of). And, he even wrote the majority opinions in two of the Supreme Court cases ... Lawrence v Texas and Romer v Evans.

[GDWhiteman]

07:37 PM on 03/10/2012

ALERT: We are about to observe another demonstration of The Law of Unintended Consequences by the GOP.

PREDICTION: This move will prove to be a key piece in getting not only DOMA struck down but all of the various state laws and constitutional amendments as well.

[Wbischo]

11:10 AM on 02/27/2012

I can't see why it is so hard to recognize that any limitations, or outright restrictions, on who is allowed to participate in a an activity or utilize a legal contractural ceremony, is a violation of our Constitution. We have laws which stipulate that ONLY MARRIED COUPLES can do certain things, and have certain rights. Then, some legislators pass laws which stipulate just WHO can become "married couples". This allows them to discriminate against certain people in our society. . HOW CAN THIS ''NOT'' BE ILLEGAL IN THIS COUNTRY? I am not gay, I am a seventy four year old grandparent, who has four children, eleven grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren. I don't want ANY of them to have to live in a country where all human beings are NOT treated the same. I have spent a lot of time teaching them to treat others as equals. and to help others to live that way. I teach them to judge people by their character, their integrity, and their honesty and their behavior towards other human beings. They KNOW that there are all kinds of people, but I hope they remember that each person deserves to have the opportunity to have, or to work to have, ALL that life has to offer them. Thank God for our current President who is working hard toward that goal.

[NAMU2010]

01:54 PM on 02/27/2012

Your children and grandchildren are very lucky to have such a wise and caring soul as yourself teaching them life's lessons. Thank you for making my day! F & F

[lambdin1]

05:43 PM on 02/28/2012

Well said!! I'm a pup (65) and gay. Thanks for raising good kids! Character, integrity, honestly and behavior seem to have gone out the window a long time ago! Thanks again! Fanned and Friended!

[Houyhnhnm]

02:22 AM on 02/27/2012

Well, I know for certain that all of the heterosexual marriages in this country have not affected my same-sex marriage at all....

"Equal means getting the same thing, at the same time and in the same place." Thurgood Marshall

EquALLity. We clearly need a change in the spelling.

[YouAreJokingRight]

01:20 PM on 03/09/2012

F&F. LOVE the username.

[Houyhnhnm]

04:33 PM on 03/09/2012

Thanks. So very few appreciate it, which in turn makes me appreciate you.

On the other hand, I do get many a chuckle that so many think "yahoo" is just a cute name for an internet corporation, whose founders were apparently yahoo enough not to realize how ignorant it was to name their corporation such... Tee hee.

[wsterr]

01:23 AM on 02/27/2012

One more example of what happens when religious bigots get control of part of government. God help us if they get the rest. Inquisitions would be right around the corner.

[NovemberScorp]

10:20 AM on 02/27/2012

Yes and Santorum went on National television (ABC) this past Sunday saying he doesn't give a damn about seperation of Church and State .... very very frightening.

[westcoastprog]

10:36 PM on 02/26/2012

Mitt Romney and his fellow Mormons are cult members. These cult members have exerted undue influence in the state of California using millions of dollars donated by the Romney family to help finance the war against the civil rights of gay people in the state of California. These are adult, tax-paying, loving couples in California who deserve the respect and the same rights that the Romney family cult members enjoy.

[Jackson Whitman]

09:33 PM on 02/26/2012

This means nothing... the only people who can change this are the supreme court of the U.S. and they will probably not say this is unconstitutional because well its not.

[rhuffie]

10:59 PM on 02/26/2012

Here is why it is unconstitutional...
I may think, and you may think that gayness is weird, abnormal and wrong.
But upon observation, one sees the gay couple with exactly the same issues, good and bad, as straight couples.
The only difference is that in our society, many are of the OPINION that it is wrong. There is nothing in the behavior that hurts or deprives another of their rights as citizens.
Someones personal opinion is not a valid bases for depriving another of their civil rights under the laws of the land.
It does not matter who likes it and if their personal beliefs say it is wrong.
The constitution is intended to prevent a "dictatorship of the majority".
In this case, the constitution prevents a "dictatorship of the fundamentalist Christians".

[sandc411]

01:15 AM on 02/27/2012

i don't give a s*#% how some slobs marriage affects mine. but how is marriage a civil right?

[oakspondman]

07:29 PM on 03/10/2012

The GOP knows its unconstitutional. Anything to deny rights they they do not believe in.

[Atwill]

07:29 PM on 02/26/2012

You know what. lets just get rid of all marriages and make everyone single agian. We were all born single. lets stay that way. lets vote on it.

[Naga Srikanth Janjanam]

10:33 AM on 02/29/2012

hmm....I understand

[Atwill]

07:28 PM on 02/26/2012

All this money wasted, while the states go broke and Govoners, like Gov Moonbeam Brown , lays off state workers and correctional officers in prisons. Like MORE unemployed people will help.

[l78lancer]

06:49 PM on 02/26/2012

Boehner, Cantor and McCarthy seem to be seriously overreaching here by getting involved in this appeal.

[kbeth]

05:51 AM on 02/27/2012

Overreaching seems to have been a problem for the Republicans in all areas since Obama was elected, it worked in the short-term with the t-baggers but is back-firing for the long haul. How stupid do they think we are; all but the dumbest are starting to question them.

[l78lancer]

06:48 PM on 02/26/2012

"Private lawyers for the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group notified the federal court in San Francisco that they are asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the decision issued by District Judge Jeffrey White this week."
------------------------------------------------------->

So who is on the "Bipartisan" committee and what makes it bipartisan?

[MrStat1]

05:17 PM on 02/26/2012

I find it amazing not one person in here blames the real culprit for this issue, Bill Clinton. He was the one who signed it. He is the one ultimately responsible. He could have vetoed but he didn't. So he approved. Where is the condemnation of him? Oh, I'm sure on this site it is because he is a "Democrat" and he gets a pass.

[Contact1972]

06:03 PM on 02/26/2012

You know what-what President Clinton did was wrong. As were the Republicans who voted for it. But the public has evolved on this issue. Even Bob Barr(R) has said publicly that DOMA should be repealed. So, are the Republicans helping repeal DOMA as the Dems want to do? Of course not-theyre the ones spending tax payer money to appeal the ruling. How about placing the blame on them as well?

[gibby1855]

11:16 PM on 02/26/2012

What I want to know is,why is Bill Clinton saying nothing. When will he admit he was wrong signing DOMA.

[Ioan Lightoller]

06:07 PM on 02/26/2012

It makes no difference who signed it at this point. What counts is the continued denial of rights to an entire segment of the law-abiding US citizenry. Nice way to deflect, though.

[CTDFalconer]

03:42 PM on 02/26/2012

DOMA had to be enacted as part of progress toward equality. It's pretty clear to a lot of us that preventing gays from being married is unjust and there is growing belief that marriage equality is all but inevitable. The fact that culture-warrior politicians felt compelled to create DOMA is itself a strong indicator that the equality movement was picking up steam. Without a push for equality, nobody would have thought twice about the need for DOMA or any of the state regulations outlawing gay marriage. With those laws in place, the fight for equality has a formal court-testable position (and a strong one) to work from.

[Alan626]

03:24 PM on 02/26/2012

The "Defense of Marriage Act" is a euphemism that means "We hate Gays and want to dictate to them what their freedoms will be."
Thousands of Gays have already legally married, and my marriage is still perfectly fine. I suspect, if all Gays and Lesbians were married before the end of this weekend, my marriage would still be fine.
I don't need intolerant people "defending" my marriage. I don't need lies and bigotry masquerading as Law to ensure my marriage will endure.
If you need a law that discriminates against other Americans in order for you to believe your marriage is valid and safe, then there is something seriously wrong with your marriage, and it isn't Gay people. It's you.

(Note: Since some people seem confused, I am required to point out that there was no name-calling in this comment. If you mistakenly feel you saw name-calling in this comment, please go back to school. Thank you.)

[Ioan Lightoller]

06:10 PM on 02/26/2012

Fanned and faved. It really doesn't affect the opponents' lives in the least. I suspect a lot of it is an issue They have to have someone to look down on and attempt to control. Very sad. I am a married gay man and I do not think about straight married people's lives--I have enough on my own plate to do that.

[robinhood1]

06:14 PM on 02/26/2012

If Congress wants to defend marriage, it should make adultery a crime punishable according to biblical law. That would certainly get Newt's attention.

[cwebster]

09:48 PM on 03/10/2012

That's actually the ONLY way to "defend" marriage.