Republican-Appointed Judges Again Strike Down DOMA as Anti-Federalist and Unconstitutional
May 31, 2012 | LGBT
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: PRESS SECRETARY
(202) 420.7873 |
| (Washington, DC) – The First Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld two lower court rulings finding that the so-called “Defense of Marriage” Act is unconstitutional. The unanimous three judge panel included two Republican appointees, including the author of the opinion. “Once again, the so-called ‘Defense of Marriage’ Act has been struck down as not only discriminatory against LGBT families, but as offensive to the Constitution’s guarantees of federalism and individual liberty,” said R. Clarke Cooper, Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director. “It is worth noting that the author of this opinion is a well-respected Republican appointee, and that the lower court decisions upheld by the First Circuit today were written by Judge Joseph Tauro, a Nixon appointee. Similarly, earlier this year a George W. Bush appointee in the Ninth Circuitruled against DOMA. As Judge Michael Boudin wrote, ‘no precedent exists for DOMA’s sweeping general “federal” definition of marriage’ and ‘DOMA intrudes extensively into a realm that has from the start of the nation been primarily confided to state regulation.’ Conservative principles demand that DOMA fall, and Log Cabin Republicans remain committed to building bipartisan support for its repeal.”
The decision is available here.
|
|
###
Log Cabin Republicans is the only Republican organization dedicated to representing the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans and their allies. The more than 30-year old organization has state and local chapters nationwide, a full-time office in Washington, DC, a federal political action committee and state political action committees.
