Massachusetts Sues U.S. Over DOMA|Christian Post Reporter
The federal Defense of Marriage Act which protects the traditional definition of marriage may be facing its biggest challenge yet. Massachusetts filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the federal law.We’re taking this action today because, first, we believe that [DOMA] directly interferes with Massachusetts’ long-standing sovereign authority to define and regulate the marital status of its residents,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.
Massachusetts was the first state in the country in 2003 to legalize marriage for same-sex couples. It is now also the first state to challenge DOMA, the 1996 law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman for purposes of all federal laws, and provides that states need not recognize same-sex marriages from another state.
The lawsuit argues that despite same-sex marriage being legal in Massachusetts, the more than 16,000 gay and lesbian married couples in the state are still denied access to “critically important rights and benefits” because of DOMA.
