YOWZA: DOMA's Federal Definition of Marriage Ruled Unconstitutional

This is big news! Big GOOD news!

Today, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued its order finding that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act -- the federal definition of marriage -- is unconstitutional in Golinski v. Office of Personnel Management, Karen Golinski's challenge to the denial of her request for equal health insurance benefits for her wife.

Golinski, a federal court employee, brought suit after her request was denied. She is represented by Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Now this is where the President's instruction to the Justice Department to cease defending the constitutionality of DOMA in court any longer comes into play. Tara Borelli, the lead Lambda Legal attorney on the case, said in a statement: "This ruling, the first to come after the Justice Department announced it would no longer defend this discriminatory statute in court, spells doom for DOMA. The Court recognized the clear fact that a law that denies one class of individuals the rights and benefits available to all others because of their sexual orientation violates the constitutional guarantee of equality embodied in the Fifth Amendment."

Rock the fuck on.

You can read the entire decision here (pdf).

ETA. Next up: Passing the Respect for Marriage Act, which, fortunately, already has the President's support.