Thaindian News

July 12, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): Joseph Tauro, a federal judge in Boston stated that the ban on same sex marriages by the federal government in accordance with the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA can be termed as unconstitutional.

This decision was made on the basis of the fact that it was the states not the federal government which recognized gay marriages. There is a strong possibility of the federal government being compelled to recognize the marriages if it is upheld by the appellate court. Medical as well as other benefits that are usually provided to a married partner would then have to be made available in case of same sex marriages too.

However, Judge Tauro’s decision does not mean that the marriages would have to be recognized in isolation by both the state as well as the federal governments. The government at the federal level would have to recognize the Mass. gay marriage along with the same sex marriage laws followed by the other states that endorse such marriages.

The Proposition 8 ban on similar marriages in California is now being anticipated in the case of Perry vs. Schwarzenegger. The argument against the ban states that upholding it would actually violate the equal protection rights as formulated by the Constitution. However, there is a chance of the California case ending up the same way as that of Massachusetts i.e. in front of the Supreme Court.

Jennifer Pizer, the project director of Lamda Legal, a group that fights for the gay rights says that the Boston case is a typical example of the Congress interfering into the affairs of the state as well as mistreating a group of people which is unconstitutional.

There is no clear timeline for hearing of the case before the Supreme Court. However, one can expect it to be a landmark case of sorts where the decision will be remembered for years to come.