Thea Spyer and Edie Windsor, back in the day (via NYCLU) The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled today that Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. Section 3 is the portion of DOMA which bars the federal government providing federal benefits to same-sex married couples, even when their home states have recognized these marriages, and in deeming it unconstitutional the Second Circuit (NY, CT, VT) now joins the First Circuit (rest of New England, PR) in so holding.
The case regards Edith "Edie" Windsor and Thea Spyer, residents of New York, who married in Toronto, Ontario, in 2007 after 40 years together. Spyer died in 2009, by which point New York state already recognized same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. Because the federal government deemed them "unmarried," Windsor was required to pay more than $363,000 in federal estate taxes on her inheritance. Had their marriage been recognized, she would have paid no taxes.
Today's ruling is notable for two reasons'the who and the how. The who is Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs, writing the opinion, and it's remarkable because Judge Jacobs is a longtime conservative stalwart, not someone predisposed to a more favorable view on these cases.
Then there's the how.
(Continue reading below the fold.)
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