DOJ to end gay marriage bans through Supreme Court
The U.S. Department of Justice will be urging the Supreme Court to act quickly and uphold a lower-court decision to block states from gay gay marriage, according to Attorney General Eric Holder in comments on Sunday with ABC News’ Pierre Thomas.
DOJ taking the gay marriage fight to the Supreme Court
photo Julyo based on work by Gilbert Baker, 1979 via wikimedia commons
Utah officials lost a decision Friday which overturned the ban on same-sex recognition of marriage which was approved by Utah voters back in 2004.
The DOJ will file a brief that “will be in support of same-sex marriage,” Holder said, adding that it would be “consistent with the actions that we have taken over the past couple of years.”
The Justice Department has refused to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and its legal efforts to extend federal benefits to same-sex couples have been successful.
Holder said, were “vindicated by the Supreme Court,” which ruled last year that same-sex couples must receive the same federal benefits as other married people. That ruling in the so-called “Windsor decision,” however, did not specifically address whether gay marriage is a constitutional right.
Now the state of Utah is asking the Supreme Court to weigh in, as several other federal appeals courts across the nation consider similar cases that could make their way to the Supreme Court.
Back in February the DOJ moved in this direction, unilaterally informing employees to “give lawful same-sex marriages sweeping equal protection under the law in every program it administers, from courthouse proceedings to prison visits to the compensation of surviving spouses of public safety officers.”
After setting a policy that inmates of same-sex couples have all of the same rights rights, Holder said: ““This means that, in every courthouse, in every proceeding and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States — they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections, and rights as opposite-sex marriages under federal law .”
AG Eric Holder is moving fast to end a state’s right to ban gay marriage
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[…] can marry and be recognized in 19 states and the District of Columbia. The DOJ head Eric Holder stated earlier this week the Justice Department would seek a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court to end all gay marriage […]
[…] can marry and be recognized in 19 states and the District of Columbia. The DOJ head Eric Holder stated earlier this week the Justice Department would seek a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court to end all gay marriage […]