DOMA May Fall Before DADT

The Defense of Marriage Act, aka DOMA, the heinous federal statute that defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman and allows states to refuse to recognize as marriages same-sex marriages performed in other states, is getting what is at least its third challenge from the East Coast states recognizing same-sex marriage in the past couple of years:

Joanne Pedersen tried to add her spouse to her federal health insurance on Monday. She was rejected. Again.

The problem is that while Ms. Pedersen is legally married to Ann Meitzen under Connecticut law, federal law does not recognize same-sex unions. So a health insurance matter that is all but automatic for most married people is not allowed for them under federal law.

Ms. Pedersen and Ms. Meitzen plan to file a lawsuit Tuesday against the government in an effort to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 law that prohibits the federal government from recognizing marriages of same-sex couples.

As you may recall, in July, a federal judge in Boston already ruled DOMA unconstitutional, and the Obama administration is currently appealing that decision because FIERCE ADVOCATE.

Cases like this exemplify why the "states' rights" argument about same-sex marriage is intellectually bankrupt garbage. Leaving each state, and the federal government, to recognize or not recognize same-sex marriage prevents even couples in states where same-sex marriage has been legalized from enjoying full equality, as they are yet denied federal benefits and are barred from relocating to any other state that doesn't recognize their marriage.

I have written probably two dozen times over the last five years about how this very conflict was inevitable, as soon as states started calling the bluff on both parties' "states' rights" punt. There are too many federal rights conferred by marriage, and access to benefits contingent on marriage, for a state-by-state hodgepodge of marriage statuses to be built while the federal government stays out of it.

Equality is quickly becoming the only reasonable solution.

Opponents of marriage equality just need to give the fuck up already. This is like the losingest battle in the history of battles, and it's looking more losery every day. They ought to just concede with whatever infinitesimal fragments of dignity they've got left.

And those "fierce advocates" whose positions are still "evolving" better get Darwin on the horn to help speed up the process or whatever. (Science!)