Federal appeals court rules Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional

Gay marriage supporter at the 41st LGBT Pride parade in San Francisco (Reuters/Susana Bates) AP:

An appeals court ruled Thursday that a law that denies a host of federal benefits to gay married couples is unconstitutional.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, discriminates against gay couples.

The law was passed in 1996 at a time when it appeared Hawaii would legalize gay marriage. Since then, many states have instituted their own bans on gay marriage, while eight states have approved it, led by Massachusetts in 2004.

The appeals court agreed with a lower court judge who ruled in 2010 that the law is unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples, including the ability to file joint tax returns.

The court put a stay on its own ruling, anticipating that its ruling would be appealed and that the Supreme Court will ultimately make a final decision. Because the Obama administration will not defend the law'which President Obama believes is unconstitutional'the Republican-controlled House will mount its own defense of the law.

The appeals court ruling is here.