Thursday, July 9, 2009

Massachusetts sues federal government over DMA

Massachusetts sued the U.S. government on Wednesday, challenging the constitutionality of a federal law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

"We're taking this action today because, first, we believe that [the Defense of Marriage Act] directly interferes with Massachusetts' long-standing sovereign authority to define and regulate the marital status of its residents," Attorney General Martha Coakley said Wednesday afternoon.

Read the entire article over at CNN.

4 comments:

James said...

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

IT said...

Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate in the country. So it appears that letting its gay citizens participate in the formal commitment of marriage has not caused a massive destruction of the institution.

The Attorney General of the Bay State says:
"Our familes, our communities, and even our economy have seen the many important benefits that have come from recognizing equal marriage rights and, frankly, no downside".

The Globe further says:
The suit filed in US District Court in Boston claims that the Congress, in enacting the DOMA, "overstepped its authority, undermined states' efforts to recognize marriages between same-sex couples, and codified an animus towards gay and lesbian people."


Way to go, Massachusetts.

For shame, California! For shame!

Марко Фризия said...

Mass. and Iowa (and some other states are really putting CA to shame.

David said...

Calif. is broken in a lot of ways. (e.g. the inability of the state assembly to deal with their budget crises).