| Connect to share and comment |
Lizzy TomeiOctober 18, 2012 13:57
DOMA declared unconstitutional by New York court
It's anticipated that the Supreme Court will ultimately decide the hotly-contested fate of the 1996 law.
It's anticipated that the Supreme Court will ultimately decide the hotly-contested fate of the 1996 law.
Enlarge
Bob Sodervick waves a gay pride flag outside of the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals on June 5, 2012 in San Francisco, California. A federal appeals court announced that it will not rehear arguments on the California's controversial Prop 8 same-sex ban, paving the way for the case to go to the US Supreme Court. (Justin Sullivan/AFP/Getty Images)
A federal appeals court in New York state on Thursday struck down the controversial Defense of Marriage Act, the law that bars same-sex marriage at the federal level.
The two-to-one court opinion, available on the CNN website, ruled in favor of 83-year-old Edith Windsor, finding DOMA to be in violation of the equal protection clause of the Constitution because it extends different benefits to couples of the opposite sex than to those of the same sex. This is the second time a federal appeals court has declared the law unconstitutional, CNN said.
More from GlobalPost: GOP platform bans abortion, gay marriage
"Homosexuals are not in a position to adequately protect themselves from the discriminatory wishes of the majoritarian public," Judge Dennis Jacobs wrote for the majority in the court ruling.
It's anticipated that the Supreme Court will ultimately decide the hotly-contested fate of the 1996 law, the Associated Press reported.
Reuters reported that there are several appeals cases about the law awaiting Supreme Court review. In 2011, the Obama administration said it believes the law is unconstitutional.
One of the three judges deciding the New York appeal, Chester Straub, disagreed with the majority finding, saying marriage should not be defined in the courts but through direct political participation.
"If this understanding is to be changed, I believe it is for the American people to do so," Straub wrote, according to Reuters.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/121018/doma-declared-unconstitutional-new-york-court
.
-
Photo
Jaume Plensa's "Tel Aviv Man" at Art Basel, the world’s premier trade fair for leading galleries and collectors focused on modern and contemporary art.
- [/] -
Photo
The front of the Art Basel building. This year’s show attracted 303 of the world’s top galleries from 36 countries, showing the works of more than 2,500 artists. It drew more than 62,000 visitors, a new record.
- [/] -
Photo
Platform Gallery's Chen Wei and one of his "Recovery Room" series at Liste Young Artist's show. By the time the week was over he had sold more than 10 works, with prices ranging from $1,800 to nearly $3,000.
- [/] -
Photo
A performance spectator admires some of the pieces at Basel Art.
- [/] -
Photo
A performance piece at Basel Scope, done by an unidentified nearly naked man who moved in slow motion up and down the aisles dressed like a Greek version of Mars, the god of war.
- [/] -
Photo
A performance piece at Scope. The man clutched a staff, on which a plastic container for motor oil with the BP logo was impaled.
- [/] -
Photo
An installation piece at Basel Art.
- [/] -
Photo
An installation piece with paper tubes at Basel Art.
- [/] -
Photo
A gallery scene at the Scope Basel show.
- [/] -
Photo
A sculpture of Sperone Westwater Gallery's employee, Michael Short, by Evan Penny.
- [/] -
Photo
Evan Penny's sculpture of Michael Short.
- [/] -
Photo
A woman views Jaume Plensa's "Tel Aviv Man," (Study) 2010, Galerie Lelong, Paris.
- [/] -
Photo
"Medusa marinara," 1997 — a photographic representation of the Medusa in spaghetti and tomato sauce by New York-based Brazilian artist, Vic Muniz.
- [/] -
Photo
Children play around Ai Weiwei's piece, "Field," 2010.
- [/] -
Photo
Heimo Sobernig's "Black Cube" sits on display outside outside.
- [/] -
Photo
A piece by Yayoi Kusama titled "Pumkin."
- [/]
Follow us: