Marriage under Assault in Federal Courts: Why It Matters

Chuck Donovan / July 16, 2010

Marriage is under intensified assault in two federal courtrooms.

Last week a federal district judge in Massachusetts acted alone to overrule 427 members of Congress who voted in 1996 to adopt the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a measure signed into law by President Clinton.

DOMA has two major provisions. First, it affirms that the definition of marriage and related words like spouse and husband in federal law refers only to relationships between one man and one woman. Second, the law sets forth the intent of Congress that none of the 50 states are required to give “full faith and credit” to the action of any other state legislature or court that redefines marriage as anything but the union of a man and a woman. (more…)