DOMA -More GOP crap - Why DOMA is Unconstitional

On July 4th, the U.S. Department of Justice appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of  the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  Even if the court decides to hear the case, the earliest that arguments would be heard is in September with the court's decision rendered in June 2013.  Until then, the Federal Government's ban on recognizing the legality of same sex marriages stands.

 

SO- What did the Republicans in the U.S. Congress do?  They know of the shaky constitutionality of DOMA, so they have proposed a bill that will strip the lower federal courts of jurisdiction in hearing cases that deal with the constitutionality of DOMA.  See below. This is just sneaky, underhanded, corrupt and outright abuse of power.

 

From a media brief:

“Today, Speaker (John) Boehner and House Republicans decided to waste more taxpayer funds to advance a position rejected by four different courts and to defend discrimination and inequality before the highest court in the land.

   “Republicans know that DOMA is constitutionally suspect; in fact, House Republicans actually passed a bill to strip federal courts of jurisdiction to consider DOMA’s constitutionality. In contrast, House Democrats have defended the independence of the federal judiciary and the role of judicial review."

 

 Tom saw this rather cogent outline of an argument for why DOMA is unconstitutional:

 

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What the Supreme Court Should look at to strike down the "Defense of Marriage Act." According to the Declaration of Independence, we start with the basic premise that:

* Everyone is created equal and that everyone is endowed with the same rights.

Add to that the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment:

* Everyone has the same rights, plus
* States cannot make or enforce laws that abridge privileges, deprives a U.S. citizen of life, liberty, or property without due process, or denies equal protection under the law to any U.S. citizen living within their jurisdiction.

Marriage has long been established as a federally protected civil right, grounded in the U.S. Constitution as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In Loving v. Virginia, Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote for the majority:

"The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men."
OK, so now,

* Everyone has the same rights,
* States cannot make or enforce laws that abridge privileges, deprives of life, liberty, or property without due process, or denies the equal protection of the law to any U.S. citizen living within their jurisdiction, and
* Marriage is a FEDERAL civil right essential to an individual's pursuit of happiness.

Connecting the dots, any State law that bans same sex marriage, or refuses to recognize the legality of same sex marriages that are performed in other States, is unconstitutional.