Jun 26, 2013

The Supreme Court handed down two decisions Wednesday in what is looked at is a major victory for the gay rights movement. In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, while the court dismissed Prop 8 on standing, clearing the way for same-sex marriages in California, but avoiding precedent.

Follow Baltimore Sun blog Gay in Maryland or @gay_matters on Twitter for updates.

: Plaintiff couples Paul Katami (L) kisses Jeff Zarillo (2nd L) while Sandy Steier (2nd R) Kris Perry stand nearby after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional at the Supreme Court, June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: Members of the plaintiff team in the same sex marriage cases before the Supreme Court (L-R) Adam Umhoefer, executive director of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, plaintiff Paul Katami, plaintiff Jeff Zarillo, attorney David Boies, plaintiff Kris Perry, plaintiff Sandy Stier and Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin wave from the court’s steps after favorable rulings were issued June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. The high court ruled to strike down DOMA and determined the California’s proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage was not properly before them, declining to overturn the lower court’s striking down of the law. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

: Colby Melvin (L) and Cory Lee (R), celebrate with champagne after the U.S. Supreme court ruled on California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, at The Abbey in West Hollywood, California June 26, 2013. (Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters)

: Lisa Dazols (R) and Jenny Chang celebrate after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, outside the city hall in San Francisco, California, June 26, 2013. (Jed Jacobsohn/Reuters)

: People celebrate after the U.S. Supreme court ruled on California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, at The Abbey in West Hollywood, California June 26, 2013. (Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters)

: Diane Olson (R) kisses her wife Robin Tyler (C) as attorney Gloria Allred looks on at a news conference in Los Angeles, after the United States Supreme court ruled on California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, June 26, 2013. Olson and Tyler were the first in California in 2004 to announce that they would file a lawsuit challenging the ban on same sex marriage in California. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

: Brandon Brown (L) and Colby Melvin embrace after the U.S. Supreme court ruled on California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, at The Abbey in West Hollywood June 26, 2013. (Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters)

: Colby Melvin (L) and Brandon Brown embrace after the U.S. Supreme court ruled on California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, at The Abbey in West Hollywood, California June 26, 2013. (Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters)

: A gay rights activist holds a banner outside the US Supreme Court building in Washington, DC on June 26, 2013. (Mladen Antono/AFP/Getty Images)

: Jesse Quintalla (L), 28, and Jessica Parral, 24, react to the Supreme Court ruling at a watch party at Equality California, a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California, on June 26, 2013 in West Hollywood, California. ( Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

: People celebrate in the street after the Supreme Court ruling at a watch party at Equality California, a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California, on June 26, 2013 in West Hollywood, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

: Edith “Edie” Windsor (L) is kissed by her lawyer Roberta Kaplan at a news conference following the U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 ruling striking down as unconstitutional the Defense of Marriage Act, in New York June 26, 2013. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

: Chase Hardin hugs friend Kai Neander on the steps of the Supreme Court after favorable rulings were issued in same sex marriage cases June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

: Lt. Governor of California Gavin Newsom (R) hugs Mayor Ed Lee on the steps of the city hall in San Francisco, California June 26, 2013, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Lt. Governor of California Gavin Newsom (R) hugs Mayor Ed Lee on the steps of the city hall in San Francisco, California June 26, 2013, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act. (Jed Jacobsohn/Reuters)Defense of Marriage Act. (Jed Jacobsohn/Reuters)

: A couple embrace at a viewing party in West Hollywood, California after the United States Supreme court ruled on the federal Defense of Marriage Act June 26, 2013. (Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters)

: People react at a viewing party after the United States Supreme court ruled on the federal Defense of Marriage Act, in West Hollywood June 26, 2013. (Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters)

: Married couple Michael Knaapen (L) amd John Becker (2nd L) react after hearing the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional at the Supreme Court, June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: Supporters of same-sex marriage cheer as they learn results of the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings on gay marriage in City Hall June 26, 2013 in San Francisco, United States. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

: Gay rights activists react outside the US Supreme Court in Washington DC on June 26, 2013. (Mladen Antono/AFP/Getty Images)

: Same-sex couple Sue Rochman (C) and Robin Romdalvik (R) with their son Maddox Rochman-Romdalvik celebrate upon hearing the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings on gay marriage in City Hall June 26, 2013 in San Francisco, United States. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

: American University students Sharon Burk (L) and Mollie Wagoner (R) kiss after hearing that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional at the Supreme Court, June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: Gay marriage activists shout slogans outside the US Supreme Court building in Washington, DC on June 26, 2013 in reaction of the ruling on California’s Proposition 8, the controversial ballot initiative that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. (Mladen Antono/AFP/Getty Images)

: Therese Stewart, the lead attorney on the same-sex marriage case in the San Francisco city attorney’s office, speaks in San Francisco, California at City Hall during a news conference after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, June 26, 2013. (Jed Jacobsohn /Reuters)

: Supporters of same-sex marriage react to the 5-4 ruling striking down as unconstitutional the Defense of Marriage Act at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington June 26, 2013. The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday handed a significant victory to gay rights advocates by recognizing that married gay men and women are eligible for federal benefits and paving the way for same-sex marriage in California. (James Lawler Duggan/Reuters)

: A couple celebrates upon hearing the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings on gay marriage in City Hall June 26, 2013 in San Francisco, United States. The high court struck down DOMA, and will rule on California’s Prop 8 as well. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

: A gay rights supporter waves a flag at City Hall June 26, 2013 in San Francisco, United States. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

: A couple celebrates upon hearing the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the Defense of Marriage Act at City Hall June 26, 2013 in San Francisco, United States. The high court ruled on DOMA, and will rule on California’s Prop 8 as well. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

: Glennda Testone (C) Executive Director of the The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center June 26, 2013 celebrates with staff after the US Supreme Court case challenging the “Defense of Marriage Act” that prohibits federal recognition of gay marriage. (Timothy Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

: Patrons watch coverage of the the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act at the Stonewall Inn in New York June 26, 2013. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

: Gay rights activists gather in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building, June 26, 2013 in Washington DC. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: Demonstrators stand outside the U.S. Supreme Court on the day that the Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, in Washington, D.C. (Pete Marovich/MCT)

: Hundreds of people gather outside the US Supreme Court building in Washington, DC on June 26, 2013 in anticipation of the ruling on DOMA and California’s Proposition 8. (Mladen Antono/AFP/Getty Images)

: Demonstrators gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court on the day that the Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, in Washington, D.C. (Tish Wells/MCT)

: Julio Diaz of Chicago, Illinois, stands outside the U.S. Supreme Court on the day that the Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, in Washington, D.C. (Pete Marovich/MCT)

: Gay rights supporter Jay Norris, of New York City, holds a U.S. flag outside the U.S. Supreme Court building on June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

: Gay rights supporter Vin Testa waves a rainbow flag outside the U.S. Supreme Court building on June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

: Plaintiff couples Sandy Stier (L) and Kris Perry (2nd L), and Paul Katami (R), and Jeff Zarillo (2nd R) arrive at the U.S. Supreme Court building on June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

: Plaintiff couples Kris Perry, Sandy Steier, Paul Katami and Jeff Zarillo (R) arrive at the U.S. Supreme Court building, June 26, 2013 in Washington DC. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: Gay marriage supporters wait outside the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington D.C. ahead of Supreme Court decisions on the DOMA and Prop 8. (Credit: Flannery Sullivan)

: Gay rights supporters Brian Sprague (L) and Charlie Ferrusi, from Albany, New York, hold a Human Rights flag outside U.S. Supreme Court building on June 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

: A demonstrator waves a flag while awaiting decisions in two cases regarding same-sex marriage at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, June 26, 2013. (James Lawler Duggan/Reuters)

Supreme Court strikes down Defense of Marriage Act
Couples legally married in Maryland will have access to federal marriage benefits
By John Fritze and Kevin Rector, The Baltimore Sun
2:37 p.m. EDT, June 26, 2013

WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court struck down a federal law Wednesday that prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage, a landmark decision that will make federal marriage benefits available to legally married same-sex couples for the first time in the nation’s history.

The ruling marks a historic victory for gay rights proponents, and a defeat at the national level for opponents who have also lost battles in several states, including Maryland, in
recent years.

The nation’s highest court ruled the Defense of Marriage Act is “unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons” as protected under the Fifth Amendment. The legal marriages of same-sex couples in states like Maryland — and New York, where the case was brought — must be recognized, the court found.

“By creating two contradictory marriage regimes within the same State, DOMA forces same-sex couples to live as married for the purpose of state law but unmarried for the purpose of federal law, thus diminishing the stability and predictability of basic personal relations the State has found it proper to acknowledge and protect,” wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy in the court’s 5-4 majority opinion.

By this dynamic DOMA undermines both the public and private significance of state sanctioned same-sex marriages; for it tells those couples, and all the world, that their otherwise valid marriages are unworthy of federal recognition. This places same-sex couples in an unstable position of being in a second-tier marriage.”

The court also issued a separate decision that leaves standing a California court’s decision to allow same-sex marriages there.

One Comment

Mike O
Jun 26, 2013 @ 17:21:07

It is a shame for d world for neglecting d counsel of God ! How do they want to reproduce? If they werent born by d coming 2geda of both parents(male & female) how would they had come to d world? Shame to America for misleading d world! Worst still 2 u who acceptd it.

Gay marriage supporters react to DOMA, Prop 8 Supreme Court decisions

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