19 October 2012

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US Appeals Court Rejects law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman

USA - Manhattan
A divided federal appeals court in Manhattan struck down the Defense of Marriage Act Thursday as unconstitutional, joining an appeals court in Boston in rejecting the law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.


The Supreme Court is expected to take up the case in the next year.

The majority opinion written by Judge Dennis Jacobs rejected a section of the law that says "marriage" only means a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife and that the word "spouse" refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. A federal appeals court in Boston earlier this year also found it unconstitutional.

James Esseks, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, called the ruling "a watershed moment in the legal movement for lesbian and gay rights.

Esseks said the 2nd Circuit went farther than the appeals court in Boston by saying that when the government discriminates against gay people, the courts will presume that the discrimination is unconstitutional.

In striking down the law, the Jacobs wrote that the law's "classification of same-sex spouses was not substantially related to an important government interest" and thus violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution.

He rejected arguments that the definition of marriage was traditional.

Suggested Reading –

A Second Appeals Court Calls Marriage Law Unfair to Gays



Reality views by sm –

Friday, October 19, 2012

Tags – US Marriage Male Female Unconstitutional


2 comments:

MEcoy October 19, 2012  

I think gay marriage isn't bad after all they were just person found the love they always wanted with a person with the same sex as their's