Obama Files DOMA Brief

Last night the Obama administration filed a Supreme Court brief supporting the repeal of DOMA.

In its brief the U.S. bluntly declares: "Section 3 of DOMA violates the fundamental constitutional guarantee of equal protection. "The law denies to tens of thousands of same-sex couples who are legally married under state law an array of important federal benefits that are available to legally married opposite-sex couples," said the brief, which was signed by Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, the government's chief trial lawyer. "Because this discrimination cannot be justified as substantially furthering any important governmental interest, Section 3 is unconstitutional."

The brief cites (among many other things) the Stonewall rebellion, gay parenting studies, and federal hate crime statistics.

Read the full 54 page brief.